Don’t Step on a Bee Day! How can you help populate the pollinators? 🐝🍯
On this, Don’t Step on a Bee Day I wanted to share a post on the huge part in our lives these little buzzing friends play and their value to our ecosystem!
On average the geographic range of bees and hoverfly species declined by a quarter over the last 3 decades – equivalent to a loss of 11 species from each 1km square! The U.K. is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and the loss of our wild spaces means that bees do not have the nature they need to thrive. The reasons for this decline are well known and include:
⛈️ Climate change
🌳 Habitat loss and fragmentation
🍃Invasive plants and bees
❌ Low genetic diversity
😷 Pathogens spread by commercially managed bees
💀 Pesticides
So what can we do? From the royal household to anyone with a spare square foot outside, we can start bee keeping! Find out who the master bee keeper is in your area, read up about what it entails and reach out to local bee keepers to learn more about the process.
During swarm season where colonies separate so that they only have one Queen, bees leave their hive and find somewhere to hang in a cluster until the scout bees decide on their new home. Most swarms occur on warm sunny days from May to the end of July usually between 11am – 4pm and the lovely Graham has been out collecting a swarm to help support it and cultivate the honey producing conditions. Even the new king is active in this area we understand as a certain John Chapple told the bees that King Charles III is their “new master” following the death of the late monarch. It’s a perfect time to start!
➡️ Link: https://people.com/royals/royal-beekeeper-informed-queen-elizabeth-bees-death/
#bees #biodiversity #climate #climatechange #environment #change