Supporting Our Pollinators

We often get asked by individuals and businesses about keeping bees for biodiversity. Keeping a colony of honey bees requires free time, a good knowledge of how the colony operates and how to spot pests and diseases. Honey bees are livestock which need to be cared for. Most beekeepers find it a hugely rewarding hobby or business, even when mid-season it can feel a little chaotic. If you’d like to explore beekeeping as a hobby further, please get in touch with our Membership Secretary to join.

However, there are other ways to help biodiversity and to ‘save the bees’. Our wild pollinators are under threat. Faced with pressures that include habitat fragmentation, changes in land use, disease, pesticides, invasive species and climate change.

In the UK, there are around 270 species of bees; approximately 90% of those are solitary species. Our solitary bees are excellent pollinators and come in many shapes and sizes, some as tiny as 2-3mm. In Scotland, the most common are Halictus, Osmia Andrena, Megachile and Colletes.  Solitary bees nest in the ground or disused holes in walls. The Mason bees can be found entering small holes and gaps in brickwork and using soil to encase their young, which will emerge the following year. They cause no harm whatsoever to buildings, as some may believe.

Other bees include our bumble bees, of which there are 24 species in the UK, most of which are social, meaning they live together in a small colony.

Hoverflies, as adults, feed exclusively on nectar and pollen, which makes them incredibly important pollinators. Adult hoverflies pollinate 70% of our wild flowers in the UK and numerous crops (around 50% of all crop pollination worldwide).

Other very beneficial pollinators are our wasp species, which feed mostly on nectar and fruit. The adult wasps take caterpillars, flies and spiders to feed their young; they are nature’s very own pest control.

So how can you help ‘save the bees’ or should we say pollinators?

  • Create pollinator-friendly habitats, such as bee hotels, log piles, leave an unmown section of lawn, and reduce or stop using pesticides in your garden.

    If you are a business, consider a green roof or wall, planting the grounds with a wild flower mix, great for staff and customers to look at as well as attracting pollinators.

  • Bluebell, Bugle, Comfrey, Crocus,
    Hellebores, Lungwort, Berberis, Blackthorn, Broom, Apple, Forsythia, Hawthorn, Hazel, Mahonia, Wild cherry, Rowan, Willow, Cowslip, Dandelion, Dead-nettle.

  • Allium, Aquilegia, Borage, Catmint,
    Columbine, Cosmos, Delphinium,
    Foxglove, Globe-thistle, Lavender,
    Lupin, Nasturtium, Oregano, Poppy, Scabious, Snapdragon, Sweet pea, Thyme, Verbena, Viper’s bugloss, Bramble, Honeysuckle, Laburnum,
    Rosa Rugosa, Viburnum, Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Clovers, Devil’s
    Bit Scabious, Geranium, Knapweed,  Oxeye daisy, Speedwell, Thistle,
    Vetch, Yarrow, Yellow Rattle.

  • Aster, Button snakewort, Cornflower, Sedum, Hebe, Ivy, Autumn hawkbit, Clovers, Vetch, Heather.

  • It’s always good for pollinators to leave an undisturbed patch of grass where dandelions and other wild flowers can grow.

  • Having flowers in your garden in June can help bridge the gap between the end of the spring blooms and the beginning of summer, a time when many pollinators can struggle.

  • Hedges can provide all kinds of wildlife with ‘life’, many species may nest at the base; a living fence. Plants to consider; hazel, willow, blackthorn and hawthorn.

  • Bee-friendly flowers are the best option; however, bees often just stop for a rest. Bumble queens can rest for 30 -45 mins and are just fine if left.