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Londoners - look out for bees with numberplates and report them.

(7 Posts)
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Elegran Tue 21-Jun-16 11:42:37

"Hundreds of bees fitted with "licence plates" are to be released from a London rooftop. (first batch in Mile End)

They have been fitted with individual coloured number tags on their backs.

Five hundred bees will be released on Tuesday, followed by several hundred more each week over the coming month as bee colonies mature.

It is hoped people will be able to spot the bees, then enter photographs of them into a competition to find the best picture, highest number of bees spotted and most bee-friendly garden.

( www.savelondonbees.co.uk/ - 'Help our native bees by planting bee-friendly flowers on your own balcony, windowsil, roof terrace, or in your back garden. Between June 21, 2016 and August 21, 2016, take photos of your pollinator-friendly gardens and any wild bees that visit for a chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher.')

Queen Mary University biologists hope the project will establish what are bees' preferred patches in which to pollinate in London.

Once the bees are released, the researchers will be able to see how successful urban gardening efforts have been.

From www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36578310

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Greyduster Tue 21-Jun-16 12:11:21

I saw this and my first thought was "why can't they leave the poor bloody things alone???" Why don't we send the biologists out with number plates strapped to their backs instead? You could get a fiver for spotting one - like the old "White Tide Man"!

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Elegran Tue 21-Jun-16 12:21:56

But would the biologists be finding the best places to pollinate? Maybe if they were released near the clubs late at night . . .

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grannylyn65 Tue 21-Jun-16 13:26:44

Is it April 1st ?

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Elegran Tue 21-Jun-16 13:57:14

The researcher sounds like a serious bee expert. He has been researching to find out more about them in the hope of reversing the decline of bees.

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Indinana Tue 21-Jun-16 14:08:56

Oddly enough, my DH and I have been remarking on the unusually high number of bees around this year - in our area, anyway, SW Devon. Every time we go in our garden there are dozens of them buzzing around, and we haven't planted any more bee-attracting plants this year.

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Elegran Tue 21-Jun-16 14:18:22

I don't think they will be the ones in the study, Indinana even with official licence plates there is a lot of motorway to buzz down from London to Devon.

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