Getting buzzy

With the welcome sight of spring comes lots of new life in particular bees. Many people are scared but there is no need to bee (ha ha), they are essential to us as one out of every three mouthfuls of the food we eat depends on pollinators.

So, on international women day, here are some female facts about our beautiful honey bees.

The Queen bee: One queen runs the whole hive. Her job is to lay the eggs for the next generation of bees. She also produces chemicals that guide the behaviour of the other bees.

The Workers: these are all female and their roles are to gather the pollen and nectar from flowers, build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive. Interestingly the male honey bees (known as drones) cannot sting either.

If you see large bees around at the moment, the chances are it is a queen bee and please don’t assume she is dead if she isn’t moving, she is probably resting. You can help revive her with a little sugar/water mix. I carry some around with me and I have helped several bees get back on their feet with it.

If you can’t feed her, simply pop her onto a nearby flower (gently scoop her up with a leaf) Bees love traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers, like primrose, buddleia, and marigolds.

Keep that women power going strong.