Most wild bee species are solitary ground- or cavity-nesters facing severe habitat loss. Restoring nesting habitat is critical for both bee welfare and ecosystem health.
Wild bees invest enormous effort in locating and provisioning nest sites. When suitable nesting habitat disappears, females may be unable to reproduce at all, or may die exhausted while searching. The welfare relevance of bees remains debated, but the ecological consequences of population collapse are clear. Grassland management that maintains bare soil patches, reduced mowing regimes that allow stems to persist over winter, and avoidance of peat-based mulches that seal soil surfaces all support ground-nesting bee populations.