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Have you seen many bees this July

ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
in Wildlife gardening
Hi all, I live in Hertfordshire, St Albans. In may and June I saw quite a few bees, but this July (2018) I simply have not seen any. I am out every day, and have a medium size garden full of interest and partially in flower. My Bhuddlia has butterflies, as do my cabbages (alas) but no bees?
As a young boy living in London, crickets and grasshoppers were everywhere, so were sparrows and London was infested with pigeons - will  bees be next? 

Have you seen any? 

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Posts

  • Valley GardenerValley Gardener Posts: 2,851
    Definitely not as many this month,several different ones in May and June.A lot more butterflies though.
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Loads more here this month than last but then we had lots of rain and cool weather till the 3rd week of June.   Wildflowers out in force now and lots of insects.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 274
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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
     I was in Sissinghurst and Dixter a month ago and looked and saw few. In the meadows, walled gardens, veg plots - they were missing.

    I'm seeing a lot on my garden in the last two weeks. But on specific plants. Linaria, borage, salvia.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Lots and lots of bumbles and various solitary bees on delphiniums, salvias, roses, thalictrums, lupins etc and lots buzzing around the outdoor tomatoes and beans. 
    Not seen a lot of honeybees recently, but we're on the edge of farming country and I expect the hives are in the pea and oilseed rape fields. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Lots of butterflies by me recently. I wish my identification skills were better. Some are laying on my nasturtiums. The underside of the leaves are covered with eggs. I let them be.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Cabbage whites lay eggs on nasturtiums ... when @WonkyWomble was a little girl she had a garden full of nasturtiums ... the caterpillars ate them all ... so she told folk she had a butterfly farm  :tired_face:

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    Yes, I have nets over my cabbages, since they were demolished by these little angels. I have nasturiums growing like weeds everywhere, in my borders, compost heaps and they even sneak inthto the tomatoe pots in the greenhouse, I love them though and rarely cut them down. I hope they act as decoy for the Cabbage whites!
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Lots of bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths here😊
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • Anna33Anna33 Posts: 316
    My garden has been continually humming with bees of (mostly) all types for weeks/months. I have noticed fewer honey bees than last year, but loads of bumbles and assorted solitary bees. If anything, more so than last year! I put it down to finally having cracked the planting so as to have plenty in flower for them throughout.

    This year, though, for some reason the nasturtiums are a big hit with the bees. They pretty much ignored them last year.
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