The importance of bees
Look out for our fabulous wildflower meadow next time you visit Acorn Hollow.
Phil Taylor, Farm Discovery Coordinator at The Country Trust wrote this fantastic article about the bees he saw in our meadow. Thank you so much, Phil.
The wildflower meadow is an incredible resource for bees. The nectar and pollen of the flowers will benefit a huge range of species. Even a five-minute walk produced sightings of seven species of bee!
The most well-known, but perhaps least easily recognised, is the Honey Bee. Forget the image of a cartoon black and yellow bee from honey products – Honey Bees are slim, brown, often with orange stripes on their abdomen. In addition to making honey - both delicious and with some impressive health-giving benefits (including wound dressings!), honey bees are major pollinators of food crops.
Bumblebees are chunky, fluffy, and loud. They are also major pollinators, and their habit of furiously vibrating their flight muscles (buzz pollination) is valuable for tomatoes and blueberries. We have 24 species of bumblebee in the UK, and our short walk found five of them in the flower field!
The final type of bee spotted was a Nomad Bee – very wasp-like in appearance, with its narrow waist plus a yellow-and-black striped abdomen. Nomad bees are an example of a solitary bee. The majority of bees in the UK are solitary bees (almost 250 species), and they are the unsung heroes of the pollinator world: unnoticed but extremely important. Honey Bees and Bumblebees live in colonies, headed by a queen, numerous female workers, plus males towards the end of the season. In contrast, solitary bees often live up to their name, with single females building nest cells, laying eggs, provisioning them with pollen, and then repeating. The males’ only role in proceedings is to mate.
Beyond pollinating our crops, bees form a critical part of the ecosystem. Their pollination of wildflowers allows those plants to set seed. This produces the next generation, and therefore supports every herbivore that depends on those plants, and by extension, every creature that depends on eating those herbivores. Sometimes the seeds have a delicious coating to aid dispersal, such as an apple or other fruit: good for humans and for any wild animals the need them. Bees themselves, at all stages of their life cycle, are food for a variety of animals, further entrenching their importance in food webs.
Finally, back to humans: there’s benefit to our mental health and wellbeing from observing bees and the rest of nature that is supported by them. Studies have shown tangible effects of ecotherapy programmes and other “social prescribing” in which immersion in nature can aid recovery. There’s something enriching about observing a Bumblebee buzz from flower to flower on a warm summer’s day. I recommend everyone gives it a go!
Species list in the Acor:
• Honey Bee
• Buff-tailed Bumblebee
• Red-tailed Bumblebee
• Common Carder Bumblebee
• Early Bumblebee
• Garden Bumblebee
• Nomad Bee (Nomada) - species not identified