As many of us know, the humble bee is facing a crisis. With a virus sweeping through its nest, and lack of pollination rich feeding fields, this key insect family is facing crippling population loss. The repurcussions of this for us, humans, is dramatic. Bees are the main source of pollination for our food, for our cereal crops, for our fruit. Morning coffee and tea – plants pollinated by bees. Cold fresh milk, produced by cows, fed on cereal crops pollinated by, yes, you’ve got it bees.<\/p>\n
Whilst I don’t own any hives I’ve been happily watching a group of female mason bees at work as they set up home on the wall of my house. The red mason bee, whilst being solitary, tends to group together for breeding. It is a fantastic pollinator and extroadinarily interesting to watch as it builds its nests. Each hollow is seperated into chambers by using mud that they’ve collected. A single egg will be laid within each chamber which later hatches and develops into a wonderful little bee of its own. I can’t wait to see what happens!<\/p>\n