Where is the buzz of busy bees?
Pebble Garden
Posts: 18
I know it has been a hot topic recently in the press and with wildlife associations, but I have noticed a distinct lack of bees this year. Our front lawn is filled with self-set aconites which bloom yellow in spring, followed by another flower which is blue in late spring. As normal the early spring flowers attracted bumble bees, but I started to find them crawling in the grass trying to fly, but not able to take off. All they could manage was a weak whir of the wings that took them no where. The following day they would be dead on their sides in the grass. I have found similar bee behaviour followed by dead bees in my back garden, always the bumble bee. I have a geum phaem that attracted bees galore last year, but have not seen one on it this year. The aquilegia has only been visited by two lone bumble bees, who have obviously gone mad for it's pollen. Without going in to all my flowers, the garden is blooming at the moment but there is a distinct lack of buzz. In fact there are not the hoverflies I had last year either. It is quite erie, the garden is in bloom, but their is a distinct lack of vibration, a distinct lack of flying life. I am a completely organinc gardener, have never used chemicals on anything, so I am sure I am not killing them off. The only bees I have seen are a few solitary and mason who have kindly pollinated my strawberries. I just wondered if anyone else out there has noticed a lack of buzz in their gardens?
Posts
I feel the same Pebble Garden.
I even had a bumble bee nest two years back in a border that was invaded and destroyed by the cuckoo bee. Last year my dad's apple tree got no apples at all because the spring was so wet and cold.
I think many factors are involved in the decline of bees beyond those currently being discussed. And I would support any Government sponsored program that gave free bee hives to urban residents.
I've seen only three bees so far this year, three butterflies, a couple of bee flies and no hover flies or other insects as yet and I'm greatly concerned about it actually.
We had a good few earlier on PG but it's a bit quiet now. I've been blaming the weather
In the sticks near Peterborough
I think it's the weather. We do have bees in the garden but not as many as usual. Honeybees don't like to fly when it's too cold, or when it's windy. Bumble bees are less fussy (maybe their furry coats are warmer!)
We had heavy blossom on our apple trees but it won't surprise me if the crop yield is low, because of lack of pollination.
It is worrying. I hand pollinated all my fruit trees this year just in case and can see young fruit now developing. Luckily they are all on dwarfing rootstock so I can reach the flowers! In parts of South West China, they have to hand-pollinate all of their full size fruit trees as over use of pesticides and destruction of habitat killed all of the wild bees several years ago.
They are probably in the hive during cooler weather. They will return if and when it gets warmer.......numbers build up in hive to maximum at end of June/early July.
Better weather forecast at weekend
Hope so. Last year on my daily walk to school the lavender plants used as border edging for some of the bungalows was FULL of bees, on a couple of occaisions had to tell my little boy to be careful. This year, I've not seen one bee on it. I'm hoping it's just down to the grotty weather at the moment, and when the sun comes out, they will be back. It doesn't seem like summer without cricket on the radio (not that I understand a word of what they're blethering on about) and bees buzzing when you're enjoying a lazy moment in the garden.
Do you mean you don't know you silly mid on from your slips MMP? Tut Tut!
Very few bees here too. There was a good 'bee bit' on Beechgrove this week.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
yes, the bee situation is a concern. last year our plum tree and damson tree only gave us a small yeild but the year before the damson tree was weighted down with the fruit. this year though, i did notice that not many bees were around when the trees were in blossem and then the wind came and the blossem was gone, so not very promising again.
however, my most favourite place to sit in my garden is in the front corner which is covered with the most beautifully scented clematis, which is out in full bloom during May. i sat there with my breakfast yesterday and was convinced that there must be a bees or wasps nest somewhere in it as the buzzing was so loud. it was so full of bees and hovers it was amazing. but i did notice that there were no bumble bees present, so i must take note when i do see one.
my grand-daughter and her partner live in north yorkshire and he used to work for a bee keeper up there. she bought him the full bee keeping kit for xmas and it has now arrived, so hopefully, i will be receiving some home produced honey very soon. will let you know more when it arrives. yummy.
Thanks for all your comments. Interesting to find that some of you have noticed a difference in bee numbers from last year too. I had thought iniatially that the lack of bees may have been due to cold weather, but it did not explain them dying in the garden. It was fairly warm last weekend and when I found a dead bumble bee in a Tulip flower, I thought this was more than the cold weather. It has been really warm today and for the first time I had two bumblebees in my back garden at the same time, but that hardly constitutes a good number. On a walk, I saw a bumblebee on it's back, legs striving in the air. Obviously another one dying. I definately think there is something wrong and it is not just the cold weather keeping them indoors out the cold.
I have a laburnum out now. Usually it's alive with bees, you can hear the buzzing from some distance away. This year, almost nothing
In the sticks near Peterborough