Why are bees important? And how you can help them

Whether they're brightly striped, extravagantly fluffy or smaller than your thumbnail, bees are vital to our planet. They're also in big trouble.

The UK's bees are in severe decline, with habitat loss, pollution and climate change pushing them towards the edge. These tiny insects are an integral part of our ecosystem, but with their numbers plummeting, our natural world and even our own lives could be in serious trouble.

Why are bees important?

We simply wouldn't be able to survive without bees. As well as boosting our mood when we see them in our woods and gardens, they're crucial to our physical health and the health of the wider environment.

Bees pollinate food crops

Many of the UK's arable crops benefit from bee pollination. While there are other methods of pollination, including by other animals and the wind, wild bees can pollinate on a much bigger and more efficient scale.

Estimates suggest it would cost UK farmers an incredible £1.8 billion a year to manually pollinate their crops.

Bees feed livestock

Bees pollinate many of the crops used for animal feed. Without them, it would be harder to produce lots of our meat, egg and dairy products.

Bees prop up the ecosystem

Without bees (and thousands of other insect species that call the UK home), it wouldn't be long before our ecosystem collapsed. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wild flowers, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter.

Why are bees disappearing?

Bees face many threats in the UK, some of which threaten our woods and trees too.

Habitat loss

As development increases, bee habitat decreases, with woods, trees, grassland and even gardens being destroyed or paved over.

The rise in intensive farming methods has also left bees struggling. A staggering 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s, reducing an important food resource for bees. With pesticides and herbicides sprayed across many of the remaining plants, bees are losing more food or face poisoning themselves by feeding on what's left.

Climate change

Climate change and the extreme weather it can cause disrupts bee nesting behaviour and alters normal seasonal timings, so flowers may bloom earlier or later than expected. Planting more trees is helping to mitigate some of the effects of climate change, but it's still a serious issue that could prove deadly for many of our bees. 

Parasites and diseases

Research has found that five viruses known to cause disease in honey bees have been passed to our wild bumblebee population. It isn't yet clear whether these are also circulating in solitary bee populations.

Invasive species

Some non-native species can cause havoc for our native species. The Asian hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax, for example, has had a catastrophic impact amongst wild bee populations in France, preying on both solitary and bumblebees. Our bees could be in serious trouble if it establishes itself in the UK too.

Honey bees

Unfortunately, the upswell in the popularity of beekeeping hasn't been great news for the UK's bees. The shipping of managed honey bees between countries saw the varroa mite – a parasite that feeds on honey bees – arrive on our shores in the 1990s. The mites jumped to our wild honey bees and, combined with a rise in other diseases, wiped them out almost completely. It's now incredibly rare to find truly wild honey bees, and the varroa mite is threatening our bumblebees too.

Farmed honey bees can also impact our native bees by out-competing them for food. In summer, a single hive can support between 30,000 - 40,000 honey bees, and when you increase the number of individual bees in an area, you also increase the competition for nectar. This is a particular problem in cities like London. Research published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in its State of the World's Plants and Fungi reports that the proliferation in urban beekeeping has reached unsustainable levels that threaten other bee species.

How many bees are native to the UK?

There are more than 250 species of bee native to the UK. 24 of these are bumblebees, of the genus Bombus, while the rest are all solitary bees, like mason bees and mining bees. Bumblebees nest in colonies, while solitary bees live and nest alone.

One species of honey bee – the European honey bee – lives in the UK. These are farmed bees that have been introduced by beekeepers, rather than being native to our shores. Sadly it's now incredibly rare to find a truly wild honey bee colony.

How you can help bees

Stop using pesticides

You can make a big difference to bees and other wildlife by stopping using pesticides in your garden. Some pests provide food for crucial pollinators as well as birds and other animals, so leaving them to be controlled naturally is the best choice if you want to help save bees.

Provide shelter

Like most invertebrates, bees need shelter to nest and hibernate in. You can buy a ready-made bee hotel or create your own – just hang it up in a sunny, sheltered spot and watch bees filling the tubes during the spring and summer months.

Remember that it's really important to keep your bee hotel clean to prevent the build-up of pests and mould. Take your bee hotel down in October to do a little maintenance, then hang it back out in late March or early April.

Grow bee-friendly flowers

One of the easiest ways to help bees is by planting lots of nectar-rich, bee-friendly flowers. Dedicate an area of your garden if you have one – even a single window box or pot on a balcony can be a lifeline.

Bees favour a wide range of flowering plants, including foxglove, bird's-foot trefoil and red clover. Plant them easily with our seedball mix tailored to attract bees. You don't need to be green-fingered, just scatter them and watch them grow!