Bees Archives - Kitchen Garden Magazine

Bees in danger of becoming extinct in UK cities: how the public can help in their garden

8th July 2020 Steve Ott News

Ahead of Don’t Step on a Bee Day on Friday 10th July, experts advise what is best to plant now for bees and reveal the correct way to save a struggling bee! In the UK alone 35 species of bees are under threat of extinction. This is especially true in our urban areas, where every time a new building development…

Five ways you can help protect the bees

20th May 2020 Steve Ott News

We’ve all heard the rhetoric of ‘Save the bees’ time and time again over the years and that statement is as important now as it’s ever been. They may not be everyone’s favourite critter, but they play an undeniably important role to our ecosystems. Unfortunately, many of our vital bee colonies have been dying out; the decline starting as far…

New UN research highlights bee friendly nations

21st February 2020 Steve Ott News

New data reveals which countries are performing well and which are not in the race to save our honey bees Ethical online florist Arena Flowers has looked at new UN data to discover which countries around the world have seen the largest increase in beehive populations, thanks to their beekeeping efforts. They’ve also provided some top tips that we can…

Plants and bees – a 100 million-year-old love affair…

6th December 2018 Steve Ott Advertising Features, Reviews

All gardeners love and appreciate the flowers in their gardens… …but few realise that almost all plants, shrubs and trees, are entirely dependent on pollinating insects for their ability to reproduce and thrive. In fact, plants evolved flowers purely as a means of attracting pollinating insects, offering food for them in the form of carb-rich nectar for energy, and pollen…

Bee more friendly to pollinators!

6th November 2018 Steve Ott News

In our latest KG Subs Club news, specially for subscribers, we look at bees, beaches, some smashing pumpkins, and lots more… Gove’s £60,000 boost for bees Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced a £60,000 fund for pollinators. This will be used to develop and test pollinator habitat mapping, to identify where new habitats will provide the greatest benefit for bees…

Glyphosate harms honey bees, says new study

12th October 2018 Steve Ott News

For subscribers to Kitchen Garden only, this article outlines new research from the US. Top image: Texas bee research. Picture: Marc Airhart/University of Texas at Austin The world’s most widely used weedkiller may also be killing bees, according to new research. A study conducted at the University of Texas at Austin shows that honey bees exposed to glyphosate lose some of…

Bees ‘get hooked’ on neonicotinoids

4th September 2018 Steve Ott News

A new study has shown that bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food – a behaviour showing possible symptoms of addiction A team from Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London showed that while bees initially avoid neonicotinoid-treated food, as they become increasingly familiar with it, they develop a preference for it. Lead researcher Dr Richard Gill, from…

To bee or not to bee…

29th August 2018 Steve Ott News

This isn’t ‘much ado about nothing’… the bee population is vital for the future of the planet, say nature campaigners There really is no question about it, bees are one of the most vital components of the eco-system and in the past five years there has been a shocking decline in their population of over one-third. There are many reasons…

Councils urged to adopt pollinator action plans

25th July 2018 Steve Ott News

Friends of the Earth and Buglife are urging councils to do more to help Britain’s bees Friends of the Earth and Buglife are urging councils to do more to help Britain’s bees, after a survey found that only two English county councils have comprehensive pollinator action plans in place. Policies such as cutting roadside verges less frequently aren’t just good…

Gardeners ID best plants for bees

25th July 2018 Steve Ott News

The three flowers most visited by bees are viper’s bugloss, teasel and toadflax, according to gardeners using the new Blooms for Bees app The app, created by scientists from Coventry University, is the only bumblebee-surveying app to record the flower being foraged as well as the insect. The app, developed by scientists at the university’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and…

New study shows EU pesticide ban is failing to protect suburban bees

24th July 2018 Steve Ott News

Bees living in suburban habitats are still being exposed to significant levels of neonicotinoid pesticides despite the EU ban say scientists Bees living in suburban habitats are still being exposed to significant levels of pesticides despite the EU ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops, new research from University of Sussex scientists shows. While the introduction of…

BEE AND WASP STINGS CAN BE FATAL

23rd July 2018 Steve Ott News

Gardening expert Chris Beardshaw launches campaign to raise awareness of potentially fatal bee and wasp sting anaphylaxis Chris Beardshaw has taken on a new role as the inaugural ambassador for ‘Bee Resistant 2018’, a national campaign that runs annually to highlight the dangers of anaphylaxis caused by bee and wasp stings. The Bee Resistant campaign, now in its fourth year,…

Bumblebees breed better in cities

18th July 2018 Steve Ott News

A surprising new study has found that bumblebees in urban areas produce more offspring than colonies in agricultural areas Ash Samuelson, a PhD student from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, set out to discover why bumblebees can be more abundant in urban landscapes. Colonies of bumblebees were placed into 38 gardens and farms across…

Hive of activity to raise bee awareness

12th July 2018 Steve Ott News

Carnaby Street in London becomes Carnabee Street for the duration of the third annual Bees’ Needs Week starting on July 9 The third annual Bees’ Needs Week was launched on Monday, July 9 in London’s Carnaby Street – renamed ‘Carnabee Street’ for the duration of the campaign, with its iconic arch getting a bee-themed makeover. Carnaby Street was already home…