Bees are necessary for nature and for life. Because of this, it's so important to protect them. Here are five simple actions you can take to protect bees.
A record 571 different species of wild bee have been recorded in the Hérault region in France alone. Bees are our friends and are essential to nature. In addition, they are important for life. In fact, a third of the food we eat is dependent on bees, such as fruits and vegetables which are made thanks to pollination.
Flowers and trees
Planting flowers and trees is an important action to take to protect bees. However, there are specific plants that are particularly beneficial for bees. Bees need plants that provide a lot of pollen and nectar to be able to pollinate. Therefore, fruit trees such as apple trees, prune trees, or apricot trees are great trees to plant. Other types of plants that bees love include squash, pumpkin, and zucchini. If you don't have a lot of space to plant flowers or trees, you can also contribute to saving bees with aromatic plants in little pots.
Overgrown spaces
Leave an overgrown space at the back of your garden. This will benefit more than just the bees. Spaces like this give bees and other insects a marvelous place to spend time in where they feel good.
For those who like their lawn neatly trimmed and clean, you can raise the mowing grid on your lawnmower, for example, so as not to cut the grass below 8 cm, allowing clovers and dandelions to emerge.
Chemical products
For the sake of nature and biodiversity as a whole, it's important to stop using environmentally toxic products such as pesticides and weedkillers. These products are one of the main causes of the decline of bees.
There are many ways to avoid using them. The first is to let nature take its course. In a garden with a good ecosystem, you can find ladybug larvae that eat aphids, for example. The second way is to plant trees and flowers that are adapted to the garden's soil, thus avoiding the use of chemicals to grow plants that are not adapted to the environment. Furthermore, you can add nesting boxes so that birds can eat pests such as caterpillars and mosquitoes.
A mini hotel for bees
Mini insect hotels have many benefits. They are useful for solitary bees in order to provide them with shelter, to place their larvae, and reproduce. But that's not all, it also serves to protect insects from outside aggressions such as frost.
You can find these hotels in some stores, but you can also make them. A good hotel for insects is made of small wood planks with holes of different diameters.
Consume respectful honey from bees instead
Consuming honey that is respectful of bees is also protecting them. To make sure you don't confuse these with other honeys, which can be blends and are often intensively produced (which is not good for bees), you should choose local honey from beekeepers. This kind of honey is produced with respect for the insect, uses no pesticides or other chemicals and respects the bees' lifestyle.
By planting flowers and trees, avoiding chemical products, consuming more respectfully, you can protect our friends, the bees.
To learn more about bees, you can also read this Yummypets article: Bees: we need to protect our invaluable friends
Source: 20minutes.fr
