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Pollinator bees have a major part to play in a huge amount of the food that we eat, whether directly or indirectly. Not just the food we as humans buy, (the fruit, vegetables and plant-based products) but also the food fed to animals that form part of our diets world-wide. That’s to say nothing of the honey they produce as well as the beeswax that is a component of many other products. Without bees pollinating flowers, our gardens, hedgerows and countryside would be very different places.
Yet for such a vital role, numbers of both bumble bees and honeybees are in sharp decline.
For the fat and furry bumblebee, which lives wild in nests of 50 to 400 bees, this is largely due to changes in agricultural techniques in the pursuit of greater land productivity, meaning fewer wild flowers for bees to feed on. According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, it has been estimated that we have lost 97% of our flower-rich grassland since the 1930s and as bees rely entirely upon flowers for food, it is unsurprising their populations have declined. Two species of bee have become extinct in the UK since the start of the 21st century - other species are also in danger.
Organisations like the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Friends of the Earth are doing their best to combat the decline of bumblebee populations through education - encouraging farmers to adapt their techniques to promote the growth of wildflowers and also encourage the public to plant bee-friendly plants in their gardens. The population of honeybees, most of which live in hives looked after by beekeepers, has also been threatened in recent years by diseases and mites, such as the Varroa mite. Honey bees are also facing threats from other invasive species like the Asian hornet (Vespa Velutina) and the small hive beetle.
However, the good news is that local beekeepers’ societies are thriving and dedicated bands of apiarists are doing their utmost to protect and promote bees. David Painter, chairman of the Tavistock branch of the Devon Beekeepers’ Association, has kept bees at his home in Mary Tavy for the last four years.
David, who has eight hives at the moment, said beekeeping has proved a fascinating and deeply satisfying hobby and one in which the learning process seems never-ending.
For example, did you know that bees can actually make a noise that sounds almost like a duck quacking? This happens during what David described as a ‘night of the long knives’, when the newly hatched Queen bee is hunting her rival Queens that are hidden in ‘Queen cells’, or on the honeycomb hunting her. The victorious Queen must kill her rivals in order for the colony to survive and flourish.
David inspects the hives once a week throughout the year as he explains:
“It’s primarily to ensure they have enough food and are healthy. If there are problems with the queen or it looks like they are going to swarm you might have to look at the hive twice a week.”
David and his family became involved in beekeeping thanks to son Robert, who expressed an interest as a young teenager. “Robert is now 18 but still enjoys beekeeping; it’s something we, as Tavistock Beekeepers, would like to try and encourage among young people.”
Tavistock Beekeepers’ website has plenty of information about bees and encouraging bees into gardens. David explains that surprisingly the showy flowers are ones to avoid and what is need is something with a good nectar content. “Don’t put out old supermarket honey jars for them – some diseases are carried by imported honey, and can contain things that are not good for the bees or humans.
Try not to use pesticides especially early in the year - honeybees actually love dandelions!
So is David concerned for the future of bees, both bumblebees and honeybees?
“It does worry me. Honeybees have been around literally millions of years and they can manage and adapt to changing climates, they just move! However, it is the threats created by humans that have caused the majority of the problems faced by bees, which in turn threatens their continued survival.”
For more information about the Tavistock branch of the Devon Beekeepers’ Association go to www.tavistock-beekeepers.org.uk
How to help and encourage bees
- Plant clumps of bee-friendly plants in sunny places.
- Double or multi-petaled cultivars of plants are best avoided as they may lack pollen and/or nectar.
- Use pesticides sparingly.
- Provide nest sites for bees. Some will nest in hollow stems, such as bamboo canes or herbaceous plant stems. Cardboard nest tubes can be bought in garden centres. Holes 2-8mm diameter can be drilled in fence posts or logs. Place these nest sites in sunny positions. Bumblebees prefer to find their own nest sites down tunnels dug by mice or in grass tussocks. If you are lucky enough to have tree bumblebees in a bird box leave them alone, but clean out the box in the winter.