Following the science is indeed the right way to go, but so much of the published science is non evidence based, non peer reviewed utter rubbish, so be very careful what science you follow.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
In fairness, A Sting in the Tail is from about 10 years ago and it's more than likely that things have moved on since then. I would need to check back exactly but I remember him saying that none of the bee hotels he'd tried had any sign of bees in them. As you say, it is probably something to do with the designs, which have since improved. Apologies for using out of date information.
Following the science is indeed the right way to go, but so much of the published science is non evidence based, non peer reviewed utter rubbish, so be very careful what science you follow.
Absolutely, I’ve read some very stupid rubbish in the name of science, when you just know it isn’t true, just provide natural habitat and walk away. They’ve survived this long, now people have started interfering, they’re all in decline.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
They’ve survived this long, now people have started interfering, they’re all in decline.
Exactly and to be more precise, @Lyn, there are diseases under bees, but maybe they got them from our bug hotels? Diseases under birds? Maybe our bird-feeders force different birds to share the same place that they normally don't do, and so on. I think we humans have totally lost the plot the moment when we surrounded us with cosy, warm houses that are full of Technic. Most of us nowadays were not able to survive outside not to mention to take care of ourselves. We turned into cave creatures who believe that we can control everything.
Looking at my clock, 3:27 AM, Winter solstice, days are getting longer again. Spring is coming. Let's do it make better next year.
I do think bird feeders need a rethink. From the windows of my house, I can see over 30 feeding stations within back gardens. Surely that level of overload must be creating imbalance somewhere along the life chain?
I have a bee hotel but never gave it too much thought re maintenance. I saw a spider had moved in over the summer and a desiccated bee husk was hanging from it...
We support a healthy population of wool carder bees and tree bumbles without any hotel assistance...probably because they live here and aren't on holiday so use a house instead...
Our obsession with tidy gardens is probably worse for invertebrates. For example refraining from cutting back spent stems and allowing them to stand over winter goes a huge way toward supporting local insect populations.
I think we need to be honest with ourselves … do we feed the birds for their benefit or our entertainment?
If we garden more environmentally and holistically perhaps bird feeders aren’t needed the whole year round … 🤔
and that way we can more easily avoid creating hotspots of infection? After all, we know that intensive levels of stocking on farms creates health problems in livestock … but are bird feeders doing the same?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We support a healthy population of wool carder bees and tree bumbles without any hotel assistance...probably because they live here and aren't on holiday so use a house instead...
I’m not going to give up feeding the birds totally … but probably restrict it to spells of very hard weather when it can benefit the birds who already live in this area rather than draw birds in from further afield, and I’ll continue to grow plants that provide winter seedheads which I don’t cut back until spring. 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I think we humans have totally lost the plot the moment when we surrounded us with cosy, warm houses that are full of Technic. Most of us nowadays were not able to survive outside not to mention to take care of ourselves. We turned into cave creatures who believe that we can control everything.
Looking at my clock, 3:27 AM, Winter solstice, days are getting longer again. Spring is coming. Let's do it make better next year.
I ♥ my garden.
We support a healthy population of wool carder bees and tree bumbles without any hotel assistance...probably because they live here and aren't on holiday so use a house instead...
Our obsession with tidy gardens is probably worse for invertebrates. For example refraining from cutting back spent stems and allowing them to stand over winter goes a huge way toward supporting local insect populations.
and that way we can more easily avoid creating hotspots of infection? After all, we know that intensive levels of stocking on farms creates health problems in livestock … but are bird feeders doing the same?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.