How to help bees

Apart from the summer flowers, we do try to have something on offer all year around. Outside our conservatory on a wall we have a winter flowering clematis, and it is constantly visited by buff tails all winter.

It probably is between the layers, NfK. We have had them twice - one nest on one side of the loft, which we still haven't found, and one on the other which DH had to remove because it was huge and was pushing the roofing felt out of place. In neither case has the nest been used two years running. I wondered if it is because it gets too hot up there.

I don't know if any of you are members of Friends of the Earth, but they are asking Gove to get the EU to keep the ban on neocotinoids this month.

www.foe.co.uk/bees/three-quarters-public-agree-government-should-support-tougher-action-beeharming-chemicals

Lots of info on here. 38 Degrees has over a quarter of a million signatures on a petition for him.

On Thursday there was an article about research which had found neonicotinoids in honey.

I wonder if farmers know that it would cost them £1.8 billion to pollinate their crops if neonics killed all the bees.

www.avaaz.org/page/en/highlights/#

Avaaz has also hada big effect on governments and the EU with regard to pesticide use by the big pharma companies, particularly Monsanto.

I'm not a member of Friends of the Earth, but I did sign a Ban Neonics petition a few weeks back from them. I seem to be on their mailing list!

Alice whatsername garden bod, reckons that it is the bulbs we buy from Holland, which age stars the pollen of the bulbs flowers.
She recommends buying organic bulbs. I have already purchased mine this year, but will give it thought next year.

Age stars? Most of mine are now babies from babies of the original bulbs so I would think are ok. But I was going to buy new tulips this year so will ask our local garden centre chap about organic bulbs.

www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/explore-animals-bees

America not worried if their honey bees disappear because they can always buy honey from somewhere else.
So much for America first.

I'm not a gardener and only have a postage size one anyway, but what I noticed last year was the number of bees on the ivy which grows over my back wall and flowers really late-Oct/Nov. It is very tempting to cut it back but really it does seem to be one of the last places for bees to feed. I saw some when I was taking GC to school with butterflies on last week-amazing! This is the NE.

I had a red admiral on my buddleia last week, trisher.
At the end of the year I always take a photo for records, and it's the latest I have ever had one in my garden - which is two postage stamps, one back and one front.

It was Red admirals I saw as well dj 3 of them.

A good reason to leave nettles in the garden, too, as they are one of the best foodplants for the caterpillars.

"75% of the world's honey is now contaminated with bee-killing pesticides.

Scientists collected 200 samples of honey from around the world, and three out of four samples contained a bee-killing pesticide. Worse than that, nearly half contained a mix of several types of the toxic chemicals.

We are running out of time to stop neonics from killing our bee population. We are soaking the world in bee-killing pesticides, and even if we begin right now, it will be hard to reverse all the damage. That's why we're mobilizing a global grassroots movement to ban neonics. "

From www.sumofus.org
Bayer and Syngenta are taking the EU to court because they have banned three of the most dangerous neonics for the time being.
Bayer and Syngenta make lots of profit from those nerve agents.
To help bees you need to tell the EU you want neonics banned altogether.

This time of year ivy provides important food for insects.
Synonymous you are so lucky to have acquired a mature eucryphia. They are gorgeous trees.
Lavender definitely the number one choice of bumble bees round here. I also have a lot of golden marjoram which keeps on and on blooming and is adored by a wide range of bees and hover flies. Sedum family is also a winner in late summer.
Bumble bees like tubular flowers - anything from foxglove down.

360,000 people have signed the 38 degrees petition to Michael Gove about neonics.
Brilliant. Just hope it works. No better way to help bees than to get rid of neonics.

Got a hive this year for the first time - set up by a beekeeper friend- and she is teaching me along the way. We have 2 wild flower fields - the only left around here with all the (oh I hate this word, should be forbidden under Trades Description) and our garden is full of perrenials.

The most important flowers are very early Spring, when little else is around (crocuses and the best, lungwort) and late Summer/autumn - they went crazy on the sedums- with the large heads being totally covered with bees- loved the oregano and phloxes too.

Only took 5 jars of honey - so they have plenty for the winter- and will soon cover the hive with bubblewrap as weather turning cold now.

Got a hive this year for the first time - set up by a beekeeper friend- and she is teaching me along the way. We have 2 wild flower fields - the only left around here with all the (oh I hate this word, should be forbidden under Trades Description) and our garden is full of perrenials.

The most important flowers are very early Spring, when little else is around (crocuses and the best, lungwort) and late Summer/autumn - they went crazy on the sedums- with the large heads being totally covered with bees- loved the oregano and phloxes too.

Only took 5 jars of honey - so they have plenty for the winter- and will soon cover the hive with bubblewrap as weather turning cold now.

www.theweek.co.uk/89613/uk-to-support-ban-on-pesticides-linked-to-bee-deaths

Well done, UK government. They have actually listened to us at last.

Now, about the rest....

Something else to celebrate. All ten major garden centre chains, including Homebase, have agreed to stop selling neonicotinoids.
Friends of the Earth Beecause petition helped.

www.sumofus.org is asking people to sign a petition to EU members to ban neonics. They are meeting within the next two weeks.

Signed

As I've seen other people mentioning bee's do like purple flowers; Lavender and Phacelia etc.

Some great people to get in touch with would be the guys at Buglife which is a registered charity
'Saving the small things that run the planet'

www.buglife.org.uk/

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