Honeybees and Bumble Bees Love Those English Gardens

A recent study has revealed that the bees prefer Britain's urban areas to the farmland and are seen more in the UK's largest towns and cities. It seems they feel more at home in the Britain's urban areas as BBC reports. According to research, the flowers planted in gardens and plots offer a valuable food source for these bees across the year. When scientists surveyed honey bees and bumble bees in and around some of the UK's major towns and cities, they have concluded that the urban habitats are playing a valuable role in bee conservation. These pollinating insects are under threat from pesticides, diseases and habitat loss.

 The urban habitats are known to contain unusually high richness in pollinator species and the bees, and other pollinating insects seem to thrive well in towns and cities. The urban landscapes make about 7% of the UK. Thus, they demand more attention in order to protect those bees and prevent their declining numbers. The researchers are working on defining the urban areas that are good for the pollinators. The farms outside the cities are planted with one crop while the gardens offer a mix of a huge variety of flowers across the year. Thus, this proves to be a valuable habitat for the insects.

This new research also reveals that there are a lot more species of wild bee living in suburban areas as compared to farmland. The modern farming methods can lead to a vast potential of the suburban areas and turn them into giant nature reserves with wildlife-friendly flowers. The study uncovered an abundance pollinating insect species in areas around Reading, Greater London, Bristol, Cardiff, Swindon, Sheffield, Kingston-upon-Hull, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The richness of species was higher in urban areas than and more than 7,000 insects were recorded visiting flowers.