How to help save wild bees - even if you don't have a garden

really interesting info


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To help wild bees, you don’t need to buy loads of kit. You don’t even need a garden. The first thing to do is grow as many flowering plants as you can cram into your outdoor space. All bees need nectar and pollen, both to feed themselves and their young. Some emerge from hibernation as early as February, while others wait until September. Therefore, growing flowering plants from February to November is key. Grow crocus and primrose in spring, lavender in summer, and Verbena bonariensis and echinacea in autumn.

The second thing to do is to create nesting habitats. If you have a garden, start a compost heap, or let an area of grass grow long, and leave twigs and leaf litter to accumulate at the back of your borders. Bumblebees might make a nest or even hibernate here. You could also erect a bee hotel – a box designed to mimic the cavities in which some solitary bees nest – in a garden, balcony or doorstep. (see article)

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urban spaces can, in some instances, be better for bees and other pollinators than the countryside, where wildlife has largely been pushed out to make space for more crops and livestock. Gardens and parks are home to a greater variety of flowering plants than in the wild, and for a longer season, too. What’s more, were less likely to use pesticides in them, enabling bees and other pollinators to feed safely. Indeed, a study published last summer in the journal Proceedings Of The Royal Society B found that bumblebee colonies in urban areas were actually stronger than those in the wild.



https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/15/create-a-buzz-how-to-help-save-wild-bees-even-if-you-dont-have-a-garden