Honey bees find city life sweeter

Honey bees foraging in cities and towns were found to be visiting a wider range of flowers than those in rural areas.

The findings emerged after University of Worcester researchers analysed pollen samples from 10 National Trust beehives around the UK to see which flowers the bees were feeding on and whether there was a link between the pollen and the health of the bees.

At Kensington Palace in London, the samples contained large amounts of pollen from rock rose, eucalyptus and elderberry and in suburban sites, such as at the university, there was a lot of pollen from lily, blackberry and rowan trees, and also some from oilseed rape.

But at some of the hives at rural National Trust locations, including Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, the samples were heavily dominated by oilseed rape with little other pollen types detectable.

The hives analysed are among 45 involved in the Bee Part Of It project by the National Trust and BBC local radio, investigating if there is any link between pollen and the health of the bees.