As part of National Garden Wildlife Week, we are sharing on why bees are so important, why bees are in decline, and what you can do to help these amazing little creatures flourish in your garden.

About Bees

There are approximately 20,000 species of bee. Many bees live alone, but over 500 species are social and live in colonies. Bees are small in size ranging from 2-4cm in length. They feed on pollen and nectar collected from flowers. Hairs on their body help them to collect the pollen. Pollen contains protein and nectar provides energy.

Social bees secrete wax to build their nests. A honeybee colony may contain 3000 to 40,000 bees depending on the species, the season, and the locality. It consists of a single queen bee, female workers, and male drones. Male drones do not have stings and their function is to mate with the queen bee. The queen lays about 600 to 700 eggs every day.

Bees have five eyes. They have two compound eyes and three simple eyes or ocelli. Bees can see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the human eye.

A normal bee’s lifespan ranges from five to six weeks but a queen bee can live for up to five years.

Why are bees important?

Bees have an important part to play in maintaining our planet. Where trees and woods are essential to filter our air, bees are vital to both pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, approximately 80% of all flowering plants are specialised for pollination by animals, mostly insects (which includes bees). Pollination is crucial because many of our vegetables, fruits and the crops that feed our livestock rely on it to be fertilised, so without it, we could go hungry.

Vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus and cucumber rely on the pollination of bees, as do apricots, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, and almonds.

Why are bees declining?

Unfortunately, bees are in decline on a global scale as they face many threats, from habitat loss to the use of toxic pesticides. Many of the threats to bees share parallels with the threats to trees and woodland, so saving bees goes hand-in-hand with saving trees. If these threats aren’t brought under control, we could be looking at a future without bees.

There are other problems, such as global warming, parasites, and diseases. These are another big threat to bees. The varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is a parasitic mite which clings to the back of the honey bee, passing diseases and viruses to it and gradually draining its strength.

How can you help?

One of the easiest ways to help out bees is by planting lots of bee-friendly flowers in your garden. Bees favour a wide range of flowering plants, including foxglove, birdsfoot trefoil, and red clover.

You can also help by providing shelter for bees to nest and hibernate in. You can create your own shelter or buy a ready-made bee hotel. Just hang it up in a sunny sheltered spot in your garden and watch bees filling the tubes during the spring and summer months.

May 31st - June 6th 2021 is National Garden Wildlife Week, so we are taking the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing wild birds and animals that live in our gardens. Together we can help them to flourish and continue to enjoy them living in and visiting our garden throughout the year. We hope that you found this article interesting and helpful.