Springtime Is The Bee’s Knees!

Spring is one of the busiest times for bees, as bumblebees and solitary bees emerge from their nests to find food. Honeybees also restock their food supplies, which they have been living off during the winter months, the queen bee will begin to lay eggs and new bee colonies are started. There are actually more than 200 species of bee in the UK! Only one of them is the honeybee, and just over 20 are bumblebees. The rest are all solitary bees.

85-95% of the UK’s insect-pollinated crops rely on wild pollinators, such as many species of bee, moth, butterfly, hoverfly, fly and beetle. Taking over this job ourselves would be difficult and time-consuming, and would cost us an estimated £1.8 billion every year!

Many of our rarer bumblebee species don’t forage more than 1km from the nest, and 500m is common – so they need a lot of flower power in a small space!
In spite of how much we rely on them, our bees are in decline. Three bumblebee species have become extinct in recent decades. The recent European Red List for Bees reports that almost one in ten species of wild bee face extinction, and over the past 50 years, half the bee, butterfly and moth species studied in the 2013 State of Nature Report have declined.

Wildflower meadows are a great source of nectar-rich food for many bee species, as well as a place to shelter and nest. But between the 1930s and 1980s, 97% of lowland meadow was lost in England and Wales – an area of 64,000 square kilometres identical in size to the whole of Bradford. Without these nectar-rich habitats, our bees are starting to struggle.

Garden bumblebee Photo: Penny Frith©

How to help your springtime bees
Plant pollinator-friendly flowers: as well as looking lovely, these will also give your local bees a helping hand to gather the pollen they need. Plant at least two kinds of bee-friendly flower for every flowering period (spring, summer, autumn and winter).
Put up a bee hotel for solitary bees: 90% of the UK’s bee population is solitary, and rather than living in a hive or nest, solitary bees live alone. You can buy ready-made wooden bee hotels for your garden, or make your own bee hotel using reeds, bamboo canes and hollow stems to create lots of tunnels which bees can nestle into.
See who you can spot! Take part in the Great Yorkshire Creature Count 2024, and send your records to the Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society or the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

(((Did you know?)))
In partnership with the RHS, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust released a Wild Bee Action Pack with lots of information on how you can help your local bees in your garden. Find it for free on the RSWT website or pick it up from one of our membership recruiters at the larger reserves.


Top Tips: More wildlife to spot

Spring flowers:
Wild garlic, primroses, wood anemones and snowdrops are all beautiful signs of spring. Many of these can be found in our woodland reserves – find out more here: The best woodland walks for spring flowers in Yorkshire | Great British Life

GreatSpottedWoodpecker Photo: Gillian Day©

Woodpeckers:
The great spotted woodpecker and their smaller, rarer cousins, the lesser spotted woodpecker can be heard ‘drumming’ in the spring – excavating holes for nests and food. Find out more here: The Woodland Drummers

Great Crested Newt Photo: Kevin Caster©

Newts:
Having slept the winter hidden away, a newt's mind is on one thing – procreation. Back in their ponds, newts perform a ritual courtship display commonly referred to as dancing. The best time to see newts dancing is after dark, when they show up under torchlight – just take care underfoot!

More information here