Bees, both bumble and humble, are absolutely vital to our environment. Although they seem to quietly blend into the background, aside from the odd buzz or two, they loyally and dutifully tend to the flowers in our garden. But what makes them so key to our natural world? Bees pollinate flowers, which helps plants reproduce. If this process didn’t happen, there’d be no fruits, vegetables, coffee, chocolate or any resource that derives from a plant. In fact, according to The Guardian, 84 per cent of the crops grown for human consumption (which is around 400 different types of plants) need bees to pollinate them. Yet, sadly these essential yellow and black striped insects are on the decline. There are five UK bee species that are under threat of extinction, and all species face serious threats according to Friends of the Earth (friendsoftheearth.uk). And it comes as a further blow that recently the European Commission announced they would be delaying the implementation of new bee-saving pesticide testing standards by a full two years – which may well be too late. We’ve made a beeline for these creatures and over the next few pages we’ll explain what you can do to help them.
Why are bees declining?