Bumble Bees Under Threat
Ranked #8,210 in Pets & Animals, #206,916 overall
Why Save the Bumble Bee?
Bumblebees are beautiful, fascinating and vitally important insects. Sadly they are under threat. Of the twenty seven species of bee native to the UK two are already extinct and a further six are under threat. It's not known exactly why bumblebee numbers are declining but it is thought that the use of pesticides and the loss of native wildflower meadows are at least partly responsible.
Whilst bees should be saved for their own sake, their disappearance poses a threat to human health. Bees are responsible for pollinating over one third of all the food we eat. If we lose the bee not only does our diet become woefully limited we also lose the pleasure of sitting in the garden in summer watching the bees go about their business.
Whilst bees should be saved for their own sake, their disappearance poses a threat to human health. Bees are responsible for pollinating over one third of all the food we eat. If we lose the bee not only does our diet become woefully limited we also lose the pleasure of sitting in the garden in summer watching the bees go about their business.
How can I help bumble bees?
Gardeners can play a crucial role in helping to save bees by taking a few simple steps.
1. Plant a bee friendly garden (see list below for suggested plants). .
2. Provide water for bees -leave out a shallow saucer of water with a pebble in it for bees to drink from.
3. Limit the use of chemical pesticides in your garden to a minimum or ideally use only natural pest control. It is beleived that certain pesticides may be toxic to bees causing fatal damage to their central nervous system and birth defects in their young.
1. Plant a bee friendly garden (see list below for suggested plants). .
2. Provide water for bees -leave out a shallow saucer of water with a pebble in it for bees to drink from.
3. Limit the use of chemical pesticides in your garden to a minimum or ideally use only natural pest control. It is beleived that certain pesticides may be toxic to bees causing fatal damage to their central nervous system and birth defects in their young.
"A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower."
-Kin Hubbard
Bee Reads
"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway."
-Mary Kay Ash
Bee Bay
Bee Wear
What plants do bees like?
You can help bees by ensuring that most of the plants in your garden or window boxes are attractive to bees. As a general rule you won't go far wrong sticking to natives and wildflowers. It is also best to try and plant several different kinds of flower as different bees have different tongue lengths and therefore feed on different shaped flowers. Below is a list of plants, shrubs and wildflowers which will help keep UK based bees buzzing -it's by no means exhaustive so feel free to suggest your own plants in the comments.Hellebores, Borage, Sweet Bay, Californian poppy, Candytuft, Sage, Mint, Rosemary, Chives, Cornflower,Cosmos, Forget-me-not, Sunflowers, Nigella, Nemophila, Poached egg plant, Zinnia, Foxgloves, Honesty, Fuchsia, Dogwood, Hollyhocks, Campanula, Catmint, Gypsophila, Sedum, Crocuses, Alluims, Erigeron, Grape Hyacinths, Hyacinths, Glory of the Snow, Bluebells, Winter Aconites, Broom, Heather, Lavender, Rock rose, Thistles, Poppies, Buddleia, Potentilla, Aster, Anemone, Bee Balm, Buddleia, Clematis........
"His labor is a chant, His idleness a tune; Oh, for a bee's experience Of clovers and of noon!"
-Emily Dickinson
The World's First Bumblebee Sanctuary!
The worlds first Bumble Bee sanctuary was planted by The Bumblebee Conservation Trust in Perth, Scotland. To learn more and find out how you can support their work please visit their website via the link list below.
Bee Links
- The Bumblebee Conservation Trust
- Learn more about how you can save the humble bumble
- Buy a Bumblebee Lunch
- I will feed a bumblebee by planting one bee friendly plant at my community garden. Bumblebees are beautiful, a joy to behold and very important pollinators. In the last 70 years two species have become extinct in the UK and others are under threat. Do your bit to save the bumblebee by paying for one
Provide Shelter For Bees
Bee Videos
The Six Most Common UK Bumblebee Species
These six bumblebees are the ones you are most likely to find in your garden.
Bombus terrestris(Buff tailed bumblebee)
This is the biggest bee found in the UK. As it has a short tongue it can often be seen biting a hole in inaccesible flowers to reach the nectar.
Bombus locorum (White tailed bumblebee)
A slightly smaller bee than the Bombus terrestris. It nests in abandoned mouse/rodent nests.
Bombus lapidarius (Red tailed bumblebee)
Has a black body and orange tail. It feeds on thistles, daisies and dandelions.
Bombus Practorum (Early bumblebee)
This is a very small bee which feeds of lavenders, mint, sage and alliums.
Bombus horotorum (Garden bumblebee)
This is a very long tongued species which feeds on foxgloves and other tubular flowers.
Bombus Pascorum (Common carder bee)
A ginger bee! Feeds on lavenders, thyme, sage and clover.
Bombus terrestris(Buff tailed bumblebee)
This is the biggest bee found in the UK. As it has a short tongue it can often be seen biting a hole in inaccesible flowers to reach the nectar.
Bombus locorum (White tailed bumblebee)
A slightly smaller bee than the Bombus terrestris. It nests in abandoned mouse/rodent nests.
Bombus lapidarius (Red tailed bumblebee)
Has a black body and orange tail. It feeds on thistles, daisies and dandelions.
Bombus Practorum (Early bumblebee)
This is a very small bee which feeds of lavenders, mint, sage and alliums.
Bombus horotorum (Garden bumblebee)
This is a very long tongued species which feeds on foxgloves and other tubular flowers.
Bombus Pascorum (Common carder bee)
A ginger bee! Feeds on lavenders, thyme, sage and clover.
Duel
Do you do your bit to help the bees out?
Yes, I love these furry little creatures.
VickiSims says:
Yes, we don't use any pesticides and have quite a few flowers that they like. They've also taken up residence in some of my birdhouses over the years.
Tipi says:
With out bees to pollinate plants, we would be in a world of hurt trying to feed everyone. Let's save the bees.
TamaraKajari says:
I teach my children to respect nature and bees (and bumble bees) too. I prove my point by feeding them with honey and propolis since they were born and they like it:-)
23squidoo says:
Absolutely! I hold in B.A. in Environmental Biology, and I firmly believe that the decline of the bee population should be a much higher priority for the world.
reasonablerobinson says:
Bees must be saved. Each species of bee has a sepcial role to play in our ecology.
Clairwil says:
Yes I try and make sure everything I plant is of some benefit to bees and other insects.
No way! They buzz, they sting. Let them die out.
Bee News
- Bumblebee lost to UK makes comeback on Dungeness shingle
- The view is bordered by an airport, an army firing range, a sewage treatment plant and Dungeness nuclear power station, but Nikki Gammans hopes that the whole field looks like one gigantic banquet of flowering plants to a short-haired bumblebee.
- Tree bumblebees: a growing buzz in our gardens
- By Ken Thompson Unless you've been on Mars for the last decade, you will know by now that Britain's pollinating insects are in trouble, and bumblebees are no exception. Of the UK's 24 species, two have become nationally extinct in the past century, ...
- Michael Rosen's letter from a curious parent
- The sun's out, a sure sign that it's the season of blue skies, bumble bees and exams. Clearly, the big hand of the end-of-year exam didn't weigh too heavily on your shoulders when you were at school, otherwise why else would you have inflicted yet ...
- 'Extinct' short-haired bumblebee returns to UK
- The short-haired bumblebee was once widespread across the south of England but it vanished in 1988. However, after a healthy stock of the bees was found in Sweden, conservationists were able to collect some to seed a new UK colony.
Bee Blogs
- Honey bee numbers get winter bounce
- Total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes were 21.9 percent nationwide for the 2011/2012 winter. Total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes were 21.9 percent nationwide for the 2011/2012 winter, according to the annual ...
- Vollmuth, Landaeta power Bees
- DAVENPORT - The Burlington Bees' first two hits of the game sailed out of Modern Woodmen Park on Sunday night. BA Vollmuth and Douglas Landaeta hit home runs as the Bees took a 3-1 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits. Vollmuth's home run came in the ...
- Why do Indian Americans win national spelling/geography bees?
- Have you ever wondered why Indian-American children are often the winners of national spelling bees and geography bees? The Wall Street Journal staff did and they have theories. Take for example this year's Scripps Spelling Bee.
- Young spelling bee champ is a girl of many words
- Flashcards from an online dictionary helped her capture the national spelling bee title. Snigdha Nandipati, 14, of San Diego gets a big hug from her younger brother Sujan moments after winning the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, ...
Bee Tweets
Bee Chat
-
-
jadehorseshoe
Dec 23, 2011 @ 3:44 pm | delete
- IMPORTANT Lens.
-
-
-
VickiSims
Dec 20, 2010 @ 9:19 pm | delete
- Lots of great information here about how people can help bumblebees. Blessed by a SquidAngel and featured on my angel lens.
-
-
-
Clairwil
Jan 3, 2011 @ 9:00 am | delete
- Thank-You so much for that.
-
-
-
TamaraKajari
Nov 28, 2010 @ 10:39 am | delete
- I like such positive lenses with easy to learn content. Great!
-
-
-
23squidoo
Nov 27, 2010 @ 5:19 pm | delete
- Wonderful, enjoyable informative lens. Although I've had somewhat of a fear of bees since a child (I blundered into a hive and was stung more than 50 times...), I have been educated as a scientist and know that bees are absolutely essential to the continuation of the world's agricultural well-being. Thank you for your efforts here!
-
- Load More
Visit My Other Lenses
All Squidoo proceeds go towards supporting the bee-friendly work of the Glasgow Guerrilla Gardeners.
by Clairwil
I was born and here I am all these years later a Squidoo addict. Mother is so proud.
- 99 featured lenses
- Winner of 12 trophies!
- Top lens » Hello Kitty Nail Art
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- Bee Lapbook Bee Lapbook
- About Honey and Honey Bees About Honey and Honey Bees
- 100% Organic Non-Toxic Pest Control - Earth Safe - Family Safe - Pet Safe 100% Organic Non-Toxic Pest Control - Earth Safe - Family Safe - Pet Safe
- How to Learn About Beekeeping How to Learn About Beekeeping
- Raising Queen Bees Raising Queen Bees
- The Apiary: Bees & Beekeeping The Apiary: Bees & Beekeeping
