The UK's bumblebees are in crisis!
Bumblebees are familiar and much-loved insects that pollinate our crops and wildflowers, so people are rightly worried.
With disappearing nature corridors, urgent action is needed to provide habitat and protect their populations.
Over the past century, our bumblebee populations have crashed. Two species have become extinct and several others are declining dramatically. They are hungry and homeless.
Changes to our landscape mean good nesting and flowers are now in short supply
Types of bees….
Honey bees live in hives (or colonies). The members of the hive are divided into three types:
Queen: One queen runs the whole hive. Her job is to lay the eggs that will spawn the hive’s next generation of bees. The queen also produces chemicals that guide the behaviour of the other bees.
Workers: these are all female and their roles are to forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive.
Drones: These are the male bees, and their purpose is to mate with the new queen. Several hundred live in each hive during the spring and summer. But come winter, when the hive goes into survival mode, the drones are kicked out!The average worker bee lives for just five to six weeks.
According to bee experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a third of the world’s food production depends on bees
When animals and insects pick up the pollen of flowers and spread it, it allows plants, including many food crops, to reproduce.
We need Bees!
Bumblebees are responsible for the pollination of wildflowers, fruits and vegetables.
Bumblebees are key pollinators of affordable fruit and vegetables for all. We need to protect them.
We can all help by......
* planting a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year;
* buying raw home from local farmers
* avoiding pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our garden
* making a bee water hive fountain by leaving a water bowl outside
* raising awareness around us by sharing this information within our communities
* The decline of bees affects us all.
