08 Allotments Make the Best Bee Habitats

Allotments are the best habitat for bees according to the results of the first Great British Bee Count this summer.

More bees were seen on allotments than on any other habitat including parks, gardens, and the countryside during the 12-week bee count from June to August.

More than 23,000 people across the UK took part in the count using a smartphone app to log their sightings of 830,000 bees.

An average of 12 bees per count were spotted on allotments compared to 10 in the countryside, eight in gardens, seven in parks and only four on roadside verges.

Bumblebees were the most frequently seen type of bee in all regions with 304,857 sightings including common species such as the buff-tailed bumblebee, garden bumblebee and white-tailed bumblebees.Honeybees were the second most-seen bee with 193,837 sightings.Of these, 42% were in rural areas, 30% in suburbs and 28% in towns and cities.The ginger-tufted tree bumblebee, which is often found nesting in bird boxes, was the third most identified bee with 69,369 sightings.It only arrived in southern England from mainland Europe in 2001, but the survey shows it has now spread throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Great British Bee Count was developed by charities Friends of the Earth and Buglife and retailer, B&Q, with the aim of providing annual comparable data and trends that will give a broader picture of bee health.Bee experts believe the mild winter, warm spring and long summer created good weather conditions for bees to thrive this year.

Just one in 10 honeybee hives perished in 2014 according to the British Beekeepers' Association survey earlier this year, compared to more than a third dying out during the winter of 2012/13.However, experts say that floods earlier this year will have affected ground-nesting bumblebees, so the 2015 bee count could see a drop in numbers.

Scientists warn that British bees are in serious decline with 71 of our wild bee species under threat and more than 20 already extinct.Loss of habitat and forage are the main problems facing wild bees.Since the second world, 97% of the UK's wild flower-rich grasslands have been wiped out due to modern farming practices and urban development.Bee's pollination services are currently worth ￡600m annually to the UK agricultural economy.

Dave Goulson, professor of biology at Sussex University and author of A Sting in the Tale said:“This year's Great British Bee Count highlights the importance of allotments in providing essential habitat for the bees that pollinate all those tasty home-grown fruit and veg—and shows that parks and road verges could be a lot better for bees, with less mowing and more wildflowers.”

The survey findings echo the early results of a three-year urban pollinators project across 12 cities in the UK which suggest that allotments provide particularly good habitats.Jane Memmott, professor of ecology at Bristol University, who is leading the project, says:“I thought allotments would be OK, but they are looking really good.I think bees like the fact that there is a little corner with thistles in, and the onions and carrots bolt occasionally and they are often wildlife friendly, planted with flowers that are good for bees.”

The government is expected to launch a national pollinator strategy this autumn to help protect bees and other pollinators.In the meantime it has issued a call for action, urging people to grow more flowers, shrubs and trees throughout the year, create more nesting areas and to consider alternatives to using pesticides.

Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth's senior nature campaigner, said:“It's great that so many people are making allotments and gardens bee-friendly but we need to ensure rural areas and towns are also habitat-rich so bees can move freely.

He urged the government to support farmers to cut pesticide use and create more bee-friendly habitats when new houses, shops and offices are built.

“The national pollinator strategy must tackle all the threats bee face, especially from pesticides and a lack of habitat on farms and new developments,” said de Zylva.