Stourport Honey Company

The Importance of Bees and Pollination in Gardens

Pollination and bees rely on each other. In fact, one of the most important things that a bee does is aid the pollination process. Because pollination is required for the reproduction of many plants, a large number of plants all rely on bees.

Bees collect pollen and nectar from plant flowers which sticks to the hair on the bee’s body. When the bee goes to the next flower, some of the pollen falls off their body and onto another flower, thereby transferring genetic material from male sex organs in flowers to female reproductive organs in flowers.

However, bees are not just important for flowers. They are also required for many different crops including alfalfa, apples, beans, beets, berries, Brussels sprouts, buckwheat, cauliflower, cherries, chestnuts, chives, cucumbers, flax, garlic, grapes, lettuce, mustard, onions, parsley, plums, pumpkins, raspberries, rhubarb, squash strawberries, sweet potatoes, turnips and watermelon.

Bees do not just aid in pollination. They also play a significant role in the size and quality of the fruit.

Yet, bees are in distress. In fact, the population of honeybees is decreasing at unprecedented rates. The cost of the mass use of pesticides combined with diseases and parasites is playing a significant role in the number of honeybees on earth. However, if honeybees continue to die at these rates, the world could be looking at life without many of the most important vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts that people rely on for sustenance. Some governments have created initiatives for the funding of projects aimed at bringing back the bee population.

Fortunately, doing your part to help bees help people is not as hard as many people think. Through gardening, you can create places for bees to thrive and feed.

Bees actually prefer certain colours over others in the garden. They love blue, violet, purple, yellow and white flowers. When you plant flowers, consider planting these close together to help the bees both find the plants and navigate from plant to plant. You can plant lavender, coneflowers or pumpkin vines to attract bees.

Another tip for keeping bees is to provide a plate or shallow bowl with some water and some rocks for the bees to land on. Keep them in a visible spot so they can be easily spotted and remember to replace the water daily.

You might also consider keeping bee hives. In the wild, bees build their own hives but these hives are often destroyed by developments. Creating a man-made hive is not difficult and gives you the chance to open your own bee colony. You need a hive stand, a bottom board and deep hive bodies. You also need inner and telescoping outer cover, supers, frames and a foundation.

The best time to set up a new bee hive is in the spring when the honeybees are reproducing at a fast pace. Consider setting up the hives in places where they won’t be disturbed by humans and where they will have open places to fly. If there’s no water in the area, you’ll need to set up a small body of water like a pool, tub or bird bath.

Beekeeping involves some expenses and training. However, the bees do an amazing service for the garden and for the food you eat. If you’re keen, they also provide honey that you harvest and use all year.

Before setting up a beekeeping outfit, be sure to check with your local council. Some councils have rules and regulations regarding beekeeping, and you want to ensure that you are operating within the constraints of local law.

Yes. Bees are good for the eco-system. But it is not so good when they are found in the inconvenient places. As explained bees are more active during the spring, so most of the removals are carried out. Stourport Honey Company will remove bees from rooves, lofts, chimneys, walls, trees and other cavities. Equipped with a supply of relevant tools of the trade, Stourport Honey Company will remove the bees from the hard to reach places. 

The usual procedure is using a heat recognition scanner to locate the bees. Then start by drilling out the brickwork so to reach inside. Using a vacuum to suck out the bees in the cavity and collecting into a bee collector. Upon success of removing the bees the next stage is scooping out the honeycombs with a trowel. in which the bees had produced.  The Queen bee is captured by a Queen Clip and placed in the collector. Final stage is mixing up mortal (cement, sand and water)  for replacing the brickwork.

When the bees and honeycombs are collected. The bees are relocated to proper beehives. The honeycombs are produced into honey then placed in jars and labelled ready for distribution to local retail outlets.