Encouraging the Bee Population

Encouraging the Bee Population

It is the beautiful month of May and the activity of bees is reaching its annual peak. At Key West Pest Control we are keenly conscious of the plight of the world bee population, which has seen worrying diminution in recent years. Bees are of significant importance to the UK economy; they play a key role in pollinating our arable crops. Approximately 35 per cent of our diet depends on the pollination of crops by bees. A view frequently attributed to Albert Einstein states that if the world bee population were to die out, the human population would follow suit some four years after. In addition, bees play a significant role in the maintenance of our gardens (especially in our vegetable plots) and in our parks by pollinating vegetables and flowers which would otherwise be unable to produce seed.

In the UK, there are two chief types of bee with which most of will have some familiarity: The Honeybee and the Bumblebee. Both populations have experienced massive declines in recent years for a variety of different reasons. Consequently, it is worthwhile learning the difference between the two.

The Honeybee

The Honeybee, of which there is only one species in Europe, are those bees that inhabit hives, the maintenance and survival of which depends on the attention and cultivation of beekeepers in order to produce honey. In physical appearance, honeybees are slimmer and smaller than the Bumblebee. Compared with the Bumblebee the Honeybee has a closer resemblance to a wasp. They have a short tongue, which is better suited to the extraction of food from flowers with open shapes. The cultivated Honeybee population in Britain has seen population depletion as a consequence of the varroa mite. This mite has spread rapidly through the bee hives of Britain since arriving here in 1992.

The Bumblebee

We are blessed with 24 different species if Bumblebee in the UK. For many they are a source of great affection owing to the familiar characteristic of their fluffy bodies. The broad range of different species is characterised by a multiplicity of specialisations: they have different lengths of tongue because they feed from a variety of different shaped flowers. The wild UK Bumblebee populations have experienced declines because of the use of toxic insecticides, unfavourable weather conditions and a reduction in grassland which has previously been rich in wildflowers thus reducing opportunities for nesting and feeding.

How to Encourage the Bumblebee Population in your Garden

While Honeybees are frequently to be found in our gardens, the wild Bumblebee, and the encouragement of the size of its population, is of greatest interest to the UK gardener. There is much that can be done by the gardener to save the Bumblebee from decline – consider that fact that, taken together on aggregate, cultivated gardens equate to over a million acres in the UK. If every gardener were to install a bee house in their garden and saw to it that a good range of trees, flowers and shrubs relevant to the survival of the Bumblebee were planted and cultivated we would help to reverse the decline of population by increasing food and shelter. If you have opted to encourage bees in your garden, and at Key West Pest Control we would urge you to consider this as a course of action, it is vital that you steer clear of using insecticides. Insecticides tend to kill pollinating insects such as bees (along with the intended target)

Bee Friendly Flowers

If you have opted to aim to encourage the bee population in your garden the best course of action is to plant a broad variety of pollen rich flowers with different flowering periods from early on in the Spring to late Summer. It is also important to ensure that the flowers you plant have different flower shapes. The majority of double flower forms lack sufficient pollen or nectar, and access to it is limited from the perspective of the bees; it is best to avoid these. Your aim should be to ensure the presence of at least two different flower species at any time during the early Spring to late Summer period. Generally speaking, any variety of Scabiosa or a wild a flower is most favourable.

Making a Bee House

Many species of Bumblebee simply prefer piles of wood in your garden for nesting. Leaving an untidy pile of logs, branches and stems in a secluded area is all that needs to be done for some species. Others prefer a grassy bank in which to nest. Leave the grass to grow tall and ensure that pollen rich plants are nearby

The Mason Bee prefers to nest in thick stems or holes in wood. Making a bee house is a simple process. Take hollow bamboo canes or stems of thick brambles, or dried Japanese knotweed stems and ensure that the bee entrance points face downwards in order to avoid the rain. A sheltering roof above will help. It is important to fix bee boxes in a south-facing point in your garden that is out of direct sunlight. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made bee box from a retailer.

Good luck!