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CONSERVATION | PROJECT
Bee Walks
FLOWER POWER: Main image, whitetailed bumblebee; left inset, moss carder bee Above, examples of bee friendly gardens featuring flowers with plenty of nectar and pollen Right, illustrations of some of the most common types of bees you may spot when you’re out and about: left, Bombus Hortorum the garden bumblebee, Bombus Pascuorum the common carder bee; Bombus Lapidarius the red-tailed bumblebee (Queen and male) and lower right: Rudbeckia
small-flowered varieties of sweet peas are all good options. Other popular blooms for early summer are allium, which can grow in almost any type of soil, and borage, which provides both nectar for bumblebees and edible flowers for the gardener. Summer is the time of the year when bumblebee workers stock up on pollen and nectar to feed the larvae and young bees in their growing colony. A plentiful supply of flowers will help increase the likelihood of a colony producing a new generation of bumblebees later in the year. Catmint, honeysuckle and Viper’s bugloss are all popular with long-tongued species, while short-tongued bumblebees will feed on devil’s bit scabius, bird’s foot trefoil and knapweed. Herb gardens with thyme, marjoram and lavender are also fantastic for bees. The greater the number of suitable flowering plants in your garden the better but as a rule of thumb, you should aim for at least two kinds of bee-friendly plant for each flowering period. For late-emerging species, it is also important to have plants which are in flower into October. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can play your part by taking part in BBCT’s Spring into Action campaign. The trust has produced two resource packs to help people lobby their councils and local garden centres to become more bee-friendly. For local authorities, something as simple as changing the cutting regime of the grass verges and park land could have a huge impact on bumblebee populations. Meanwhile garden centres can play an important role by promoting plants beneficial to bumblebees over common bedding plants which offer little or no pollen and nectar. ■
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is looking for volunteers to help them monitor these much-loved pollinators by signing up to its BeeWalk project – a national recording scheme which aims to build up a more accurate picture of bumblebee populations across the UK. All you need is a spare hour or so every month between now and October to walk a fixed route of about a mile. Having recorded the bumblebees you see on your walk, you then enter the information on the trust’s website. In general, most people will only see what are often referred to as the Big Eight common bumblebees. These include the Buff-tailed, Red-tailed and White-tailed bumblebees as well as the Garden bumblebee and Common carder bee. If you do come across a rare species or a bee you don’t recognise, you can take some photographs and upload them to a special BeeWatch website, run by BBCT in partnership with Aberdeen University. Here you will be guided through some easy questions to help identify the bumblebee in your photo, which is then verified by an expert. Marc Carlton, from Chepstow, has been doing BeeWalks for three years. “I’m constantly encouraging people to record bumblebees,” he says. “It’s a great way of getting into the countryside and learning a lot. However, it’s a steep learning curve. I would always say to newcomers – start in your garden as soon as possible. Get an ID kit if you don’t already know about bumblebees and see if you can record the big six, seven or eight in your garden. That’s the first step on the ladder. Most people have no idea there is more than one bumblebee.” Marc, who is involved with the UK Wildlife Gardening Forum, also says the route you choose is important. His route is on the Gloucestershire side of the River Wye and takes in the cliff tops beside the Bristol channel as well as arable land with hedges. “It’s a mix of habitat which is all to the good,” he says. “I’ve seen most of the big six or seven plus one or two cuckoo bees. What you see, and when, is very dependent on the flowers. What I have learnt is there is a very close relationship between flowers and bumblebees. They don’t have time to fly around if there’s no food. They just go where the food is. On any particular stretch, if the flowers are out and if it’s not pouring with rain, the bees are there. If there are no flowers there are no bees.” For those new to the world of bumblebees, Marc suggests sharing a BeeWalk with a group of friends or neighbours. “If you get several people in a village or allotment say, or a group of friends, they can all go on a bumblebee ID course and share a BeeWalk. That makes it easier because of the commitment. It’s only a couple of hours every month but you have to do it when the sun’s out, not pouring with rain.” Groups in the Bristol area interested in taking part in a guided BeeWalk or attending an ID talk can contact Marc Carlton at: foxleas@phonecoop.coop For more information about how to get involved in BeeWalks visit: http://bumblebeeconservation.org/getinvolved/surveys/beewalk/
To find out how bee-friendly your garden is, try the Bee Kind tool on the BBCT website which will give you a score on the flowers already in your garden and advice on what else to plant: http://beekind.bumblebeeconservation.org/
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MAY 2014
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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 87