According the the BeeCraft Magazine this month, the National Trust have suggested that Strong grass growth caused by the Tenth year of unsettled weather, has badly affected both our butterflies and bee’s. As they are reliant on small plants that have been crowded out by vigorous-growing grasses in 2016.
They go on to say that at Lytes Cary in Somerset, bumblebee numbers tumbled as wildflowers in the field margins were outgrown by grasses. Surveys by Volunteers on the Somerset estate showed an 85% decline in bumblebee numbers compared with last year. Meadow butterflies struggled on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
However, there was some hope at Lytes Cary. It is one of the best sites in the South-West for the UK’S rarest bumblebee, the shrill carder bee, as rangers continue to restore meadows on the estate.
Way to help bees are to make sure our gardens or even window box have lots of flowering plants from early spring to late Autumn, for them to forage on. Early spring is very important as the bees need to restock. Bees like Blue, Purple, Violet, Yellow and White flowers best. They do not like double petals plants ie. lots of closely packed petals as these tend to have little or no nectar and pollen.