Top tips to help you “bee” friendly come rain, shine or snow! With a changing climate and increasing habitat loss, bees need all the help they can get. 

How bee friendly is your garden? Could you be doing more to help the bees in the UK?

Did you know…There are more than 250 bee species in the UK, from bumble bees, mining bees to honey bees that normally live in hives managed by beekeepers.
Bees are important pollinators as they play a critical role in pollinating trees and flowers and maintaining healthy ecosystems, which are essential for our food production. Pollinators such as bees are worth a staggering £690 million per annum to the UK economy, and more than three-quarters of the world’s food crops are in part dependent on them. Yet, bee populations are declining.

1. Grow your bee friendly garden – Plant a range of flowers in your garden so bees have access to nectar from March to October. You can use the winter season to plan a garden full of nectar-rich plants that bees can forage come spring. Bees love traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers, like primrose, buddleia, and marigolds. You can also buy (or easily build) an ‘insect hotel’ using hollow stems like bamboo, twigs and string – just tie together a length of these and put them in a hedge or bush, or hang somewhere sheltered to provide a home for bees and other insects.

2. Treat Bees to some sugar – A tired bee really does like a tiny hit of sugar (never honey!) Mix two teaspoons of white granulated sugar with one teaspoon of water and put it on a plate or drip it on a flower, to revive a tired bee.

Make sure to always use white granulated sugar rather than other sugar. Sometimes you might see a bee lying on the ground and not moving, but it is probably just resting. So after you’ve given it some sugary water, just simply let it be(e).

Would you like to know more about Bee’s? Head over to the wwf website where you can find out about the different types of bees in the UK… Click Here