Bees are an important part of our eco-system and are crucial for pollinating many different plant species. According to the Vanishing Bees website (www.vanishingbees.co.uk), in the UK, bees pollinate around a third of the food we eat.
It’s easy to see why bees are important but across the world there has been a decline in bee populations in recent years, causing great concern within the scientific community. Several reasons have been suggested for the decline, ranging from global warming to the use of pesticides but further research is needed to determine exactly what is causing the numbers of bees to drop so dramatically.
In the meantime, you can provide a welcoming environment for bees in your garden and there is a chance that having a good supply of nectar-rich plants may help local bee populations to recover.
To encourage bees to your garden, choose traditional cottage garden plants or wildflowers which have lots of pollen rather than exotic or cultivated plants which do not. Good examples include cornflowers, sunflowers, bluebells and honeysuckle.
Bees also need places to nest over winter so provide piles of stones or log piles where they can hibernate. Alternatively invest in a ready-made bumble bee box.
If you don’t have a garden there are other ways in which you can help protect the future of these important creatures. Some areas have beehive sponsorship programmes or you can support your local bee keepers by buying local honey.
For more information about bumblebee conservation projects visit: http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/index.htm