Some years ago a swarm of honey bees swarmed in our garden, that in itself is not unusual ,it happens every year and we always call our local bee-keeper to come and collect them. What was unusual was that on this occasion the bees scouts found a suitable hole in a lime tree at the bottom of our garden, the settled in that day and have been there ever since.
Each year the bees swarm and about a half of the colony goes with a new queen to start another nest, leaving the old queen with a manageable size brood.
This morning while tidying the front garden I took a look at the hive, it was busier than ever due I think to the large amount of Michaelmas daisies in our garden. During the summer months most of the nectar collected by the workers is fed to the growing colony but at this time of year the bees are very busy providing for themselves during the winter months.
Out walled garden contains a good deal of mature ivy which flowers prolifically in September and provides Th bees with a welcome source of food at a time when there are less flowers about. Nature has provided these plants flowering in season and the bees take full advantage of this bounty.
It is then most unfortunate that there has been of late a mass removal of ivy from our walls and buildings, it is either cut hard back so that it does not flower or worse it is destroyed altogether. I know that fully nature ivy may not be everyone’s cup of tea but in places such as parks churchyards and roadsides I am sure that it could be left alone.
These days Local Authorises choose to remove ivy wholesale where ever it appears. In my area over 70% of this useful plant has been removed in the last three years. It is a lack of understanding of ecology and an ignorance of which causes the problem . My own Local Authority joined a London wide drive to promote the welfare of the endangered Stag Beetle in our area while at the same time removing any dead wood either on the trees or on the ground thus leaving these fabulous insects nowhere to breed. They are still baffled as to why the population is decreasing!
Surely it is time to employ people who understand wild life in theses positions . Our Local Authority has an Ecologist be he makes no decisions about have the maintenance of our parks and open spaces are managed. He only gets involve if people such a s myself lobby the council for changes in their routine work.
We all take bees for granted and yet they are vital for our own welfare, in the U.S.A where for many years bees have been transported all over the continent to pollinate large orchards bees are dying by the billion and no one knows why. Bees are big business because without them there is no harvest., No fruit. No vegetables, nothing.
I am sorry to be banging on about this again but unless we all take responsibility for what is going on we may not live long after the last bee has died.
I would ask everyone to observe the doings of their Local Authority and if you think that they are damaging the environment make a fuss. Write letters, send e,mail, organise awareness days in your local schools. It may take a while but believe me it does work.
If you do not feel able to rise a ruckus then plant a few Michaelmas daisies, or anything that bears a late crop of pollen. If we all do just that much it will help.
I know I keep banging on about this but it is so terribly important to all of us to do something about the problem now so please forgive me for mentioning it again.
And so in the words of Morgan Freeman “thank you ,for listening.”
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