A Bee-Spotting reminder
I think most people know what a bumble bee looks like – they-re the round furry ones which tend to make a lot of noise. Honey bees are smaller but if you look carefully you can see the pollen sacs (yes, that is how you spell it) on their back legs where they store the pollen to take back to the bee hive. There are hover flies which dress up like bees just to confuse everyone – but they have no pollen sacs. It is a fact that the colour of the pollen can tell a beekeeper exactly the kind of plant which the bees are feeding on.
Your job as a bee friend is to keep a look-out in your garden and on walks to see which plants the bees are collecting food from. Those are the plants we need to encourage and grow in our gardens, fields and open areas – and even if you don't want wild flowers in your garden, you can find a similar cultivated variety to plant, for example the blue cranesbill you see by the roadsides in summer is similar to the perennial geraniums you can buy from garden centres. And looking ahead, one of the valuable bee food plants in early spring is the wallflower, and now is the time to be sowing seed for them.
'Youlgrave Bee-Friends' Container flower competition.
Talking about growing plants, cast your thoughts forward to July. Television may flaunt its Chelsea or Tatton Park Flower Shows, but you have an opportunity to share your summer blooms at the Carnival on July 23rd, so start thinking about the flowers and the container you will use for them. The Container, we hope, will be part of the Carnival procession, so it will need to have its own wheels (old pram, bicycle etc.) or to be easily lifted on to a wheelbarrow – the more original the container the better.
The plants and flowers in the container will be judged on their bee friendliness. For a list of bee friendly plants see our blog at the youlgravebeegroup.blogspot.com.
Prizes : there will be a trophy and some honey, of course!
Entry Forms will be available at the Village Market on June 11th from the Produce Stall and thereafter from Jeni Edwards (call 636550).
Reminder of swarm alert numbers : Ian Weatherley 636350, Judith Orchard 630202 and Jeni Edwards 636550.
