A bee see – take note

Beverley Garden Centre on Hull Road in Woodmansey is backing the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's (BBCT) Tree Bee Survey as part of its Insect and Wildlife Week, which runs from Monday, June 21, until Sunday, June 27.

Manager, Teresa Corderoy said: "We are inviting visitors to take part in the Tree Bee Survey, which is being conducted by the BBCT and the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society.

"We're supporting the survey because bees are the gardener's best friends. They fly from flower to flower collecting nectar, thus pollinating plants, which is essential for crop production."

The BBCT and Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society are asking people to inform them of sightings of the nation's newest bee – the Tree Bumblebee.

The Tree Bumblebee arrived in the UK in 2001 from France and is gradually spreading north. It is a very distinctive looking bee, with a central body section colouring of all brown, a black abdomen and a white tail.

Dr Ben Darvill, Director of the BBCT, said: "Bumblebees are beautiful, hard working and incredibly important pollinators. The UK currently has 24 species, but, sadly, in the past 70 years two species have become extinct and many others have declined dramatically.

"They are essential for the pollination of vital crops and therefore the food on our plates. Our colourful wild flowers also need pollinators, and without them many could disappear.

"Wild solitary bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and more besides, also have an important role to play which deserves wider recognition. Many pollinator groups have declined in recent years, with bumblebees among those struggling."

People are also being asked to record sightings of the Tree Bumblebee's unusual swarming behaviour. This year (2010) many people have reported seeing a cloud of males dancing at the entrance to the nest.

For more information and to take part in the survey, visit www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/tree_bee.htm.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Soil Association has revealed chemicals lethal to bees can be found in domestic gardening products on sale in UK supermarkets, hardware stores and garden centres.

A group of insecticides called neonicotinoids have been linked to the dramatic decline in honey bee numbers which have been see in the past few years.

Neonicotinoids – first used in agriculture in the mid-1990s – have been banned or suspended in several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

As the UK Government has so far failed to act on this issue, the Soil Association is calling on the chief executives of B&Q, Wilkinsons and Wyevale, to withdraw any products containing neonicotinoid pesticides.

A selection of products to avoid in your garden can be found here:www.soilassociation.org/bees.aspx

Gardeners can also play their part in helping bees by using organic gardening techniques, having a wide variety of plants and by not being too tidy – wild flowering plants are perfect food for bees and ivy is a particularly important source in the winter.

Bee decline is a worldwide phenomenon – in the UK alone beekeepers reported an average loss of 17.7 per cent in 2009/10. Although no single reason is responsible for this dramatic decline of these crucial pollinators, one of the major causes is linked to industrial-scale farming.

This has meant a sharp decrease in areas of wild flowers and other bee-friendly sites, as well as the use of insecticides such as neonicotinoids.

Bees play a vital role in the food chain – it is estimated that one third of human food supplies depend on their pollination.

For further details of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, contact Dr. Ben Darvill, Director at the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling on 01786 467819, email [email protected] or visit www.bumblebeeconservation.org

YP MAG 19/6/10