Why should we support bees?
- Bees pollinate 70 of the 100 crop species, that provide 90% of food worldwide, without them we would go hungry!
- Many of our vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, cucumber, rely on bees for pollination, as do strawberries, apples and tomatoes. Even the coffee we drink daily!
- Bees are in decline and they face many threats to their habitats. This includes the use of toxic pesticide and the loss of woodlands and wildflower meadows.
How many Bee species are there in the UK?
There are 250 species of bee in the UK.
- 1 species of honey bee
- 24 species of bumble bee
- 224 species of solitary bee
Bumble bees and solitary bees do most of the pollinating in our gardens and fields. They are fantastic pollinators! For example, a single solitary Red Mason bee is equivalent to 120 worker honeybees in the pollination it provides!
How can you help?
Create a buzzy, bee café in your garden.
Of the 250 species of bee in the UK, your garden is likely to attract 20 species of bee:
- some species of bees are long tongued and some are short tongued.
- some species of bees fly early in spring and some late into autumn.
- some species of bees are small and agile and some are not.
- some species of bees collect pollen on a part of their body and some on all of their body.
- some species of bees are fluffy and some are not.
All of this affects a bee’s choice of plant and flower they will visit to collect pollen and nectar. So, when creating your own ‘buzzy bee café’, aim for a good variety of pollen-rich flowers that have different flower shapes and a range of flowering periods from early spring to late summer and even throughout the winter. Avoid double flowering varieties with lots of petals, as bees generally find these harder to access and they often lack nectar and pollen.
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Growing bee-friendly plants all year round, is a great way to support our bee populations!
The top plants to attract a good variety of bee species throughout the year include:
Spring
Aubretia, Bluebells, Ceanothus, Crocus, Erysimum-wallflower, Hazel, Hellebore, Crab Apple, Muscari, Primula, Prunus, Pulmonaria, Myosotis(forget-me-not), Salix, Skimmia, Spring flowering herbs and Orchard trees such as Apple, Pear and Cherry.
Summer
Alcea, Aster, Achillea, Antirrhinum (Snapdragon), Aquilegia, Black-eyed Susans, Borage, Buddleja, Cat mint, Ceanothus, Cirsium, Clematis, Cosmos, Campanula, Cornflowers, Dahlia- single flowers, Digitalis, Delphinium, Dicentra, Echinacea, Foxgloves, Fuchsia-hardy, Hollyhocks, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Lilacs, Red valerian, Rosemary, Rudbeckia, Sunflower, Salvia, Scabious, Summer flowering herbs such as Marjoram, Rosemary, Fruit and vegetables such as Broad beans, Strawberries, Raspberries, Tomato and Peppers.
Autumn
Anemone, Colchicum, Dahlia-single flower, Heathers, Ivy, Verbena, Sedum.
Winter
Crocus, Snowdrop, Hellebore, Ivy, Lonicera (Winter Honeysuckle), Mahonia, Sarcococca, Viburnum, Winter flowering clematis.