A sting in the tale...

ACCORDING to a survey of the nation's beekeepers, the British honeybee has suffered catastrophic losses in recent years and around one third of the UK bees have been wiped out.

Bees and other pollinators are the vital link in the process of taking pollen from flower to flower to fertilise plants.

Without this transfer, fruits, nuts, vegetables, seeds and berries will not develop, with the resultant loss of food for humans, animals and plant diversity.

We all need to do something to redress the balance now. If nothing is done, the demise of the honeybee is predicted within a decade.

Government is funding research into honeybee losses, but in the meantime we can do our bit to help by growing plants that are rich in pollen.

Honeybees rely on garden flowers to ensure they have a diverse diet. Daisy shaped flowers (asters, sunflowers, marigolds, etc) are good for bees, as well as alliums, beans and flowering herbs, especially mint, borage and hyssop.

Bees see ultra violet wavelengths, so colours in the blue and violet spectrum are particularly attractive, as are tall plants like hollyhocks, larkspur and foxgloves..

Early flowering plants such as flowering currant and heathers are a good source of pollen in March when there are not many other plants in flower.

Wildflower rich roadside verges provide important corridors of flowers which can link to gardens, thus ensuring a local supply of nectar and pollen so the bees don't become exhausted flying long distances..

In order to ensure that there will be a succession of flowering plants in following years, many local authorities are delaying cutting the grass on some verges until the flowers have set seed.

So don't get upset if grass is not cut so regularly, as being too neat and tidy will not help the bees - and ultimately our food supply.

JAN WOOD and JACKIE FRANKS, Saltburn