The humble honey bee is in trouble around the world. The numbers of wild bees have been dropping for years. We are increasingly reliant on cultivated honey bees and their numbers are dropping as well. Bees are prone to Colony Collapse Disorder. It’s not clear what is causing this but pesticide is the number one suspect in a short list of several. There are fears that honey bees could disappear in a few years if we are not careful. Bees have an extremely important role in pollinating trees, plants and crops. Without them our environment will start to slowly die. But there are some things we can do to help such as planting bee friendly plants in our gardens like allium, beans and flowering herbs. Or even putting a hive in the garden. You don’t need a lot of space. Urban bees are doing better than their rural cousins and are known to produce some of the best honey in the UK because there is a greater diversity of plants and little pesticide in cities.
Central London bees hard at work
You can get more information about bees and beekeeping from the British Beekeeping Association.
In honour of the honey bee I’ve made some ‘honey beads’ . They”re made with the sober and muted colours of the bee – ochre, different browns and some black. They need to be sanded and buffed before they can be strung.
Honey beads
