The 10th July unites the nation for National Don’t Step on a Bee Day, highlighting the value of bees and the good work done by the nation’s beekeepers.
The recent press surrounding the ‘Bee Crisis’ has been hard to ignore. Bees help to keep us all fed and watered! Without the tireless work of our little buzzing friends, over a third of everything we eat would disappear from our tables.
Please see below for bee care tips and interesting facts to give you inspiration for Don’t Step on a Bee Day:
- Don’t step on a bee! (Of course)
- Support your local beekeeper! The majority of our honey here in the UK is imported (85%!), but with the wealth of bee keepers on our doorstep there is really no need. Support your local bee keeper by visiting a near-by farm shop or deli.
- Download the Great British Bee Count app. This app was created by Friends of the Earth allows the public to log the bees spotted out and about. This builds a picture of bee health and activity in the UK to secure a thriving future for our buzzing bees!
- Build a bee hotel! Did you know that bees need somewhere to rest when they venture out on their pollen mission?
- The average worker bee makes only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
- Worker honey bees are female, live for about six weeks and do all the work.
- The male bees are drones and their only task is to find a queen bee to mate with.
- Until the late 17th/early 18th century, queen bees were thought to be kings.
- The patron saint of bees and beekeepers is St Bernard of Clairvaux, and
- A honey bee’s wings beat about 200 beats per second which is what makes their buzz.
(Source: Awareness Days)