Bee Friendly Gardening and Welfare

Bee-friendly gardening provides vital food resources for honey bees, bumblebees and solitary bees throughout the season, creating welfare benefits for insects that are under significant pressure from habitat loss and pesticide use.

Key Facts

The UK has 270 species of bee including one honey bee species, 25 bumblebee species and approximately 240 solitary bee species
Bees need a continuous supply of pollen and nectar from early spring to late autumn to maintain colony health and food stores
Many common garden plants including bedding petunias, double flowers and some ornamental varieties provide little or no pollen or nectar
Red mason bees are important early pollinators that can be supported through bee hotels placed in sunny, sheltered positions
The RHS Perfect for Pollinators scheme identifies garden plants that provide good forage for bees and other pollinators

Welfare Considerations

Bee-friendly gardens provide direct welfare benefits to bees by ensuring adequate nutrition through the season. Bees foraging in gardens poor in pollen and nectar experience nutritional stress that reduces immune function and reproductive success. The welfare value of a single well-planted garden is limited but the cumulative effect of many gardens in an area can create significant pollinator habitat in otherwise resource-poor urban landscapes. Solitary bees that nest in gardens — using hollow stems, sandy banks and bee hotels — receive welfare benefits from secure nesting sites in addition to food. Avoiding pesticides in bee-friendly gardens is essential as even garden-scale pesticide use can harm foraging bees.

What You Can Do

Plant a diverse range of native and RHS Perfect for Pollinators plants providing year-round forage
Leave areas of bare soil, hollow stems and long grass to provide nesting habitat for solitary bees
Avoid all pesticide use in areas where bees forage, particularly systemic pesticides
Install a bee hotel in a sunny, south-facing position to support cavity-nesting solitary bees
Record bee species in your garden through Beewatch and similar citizen science schemes to contribute to national monitoring