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Gardeners urged to get bees buzzing
12/08/09
Britain's gardeners have been asked to leave out homemade energy drinks to help the country's ailing bee population get back on their, well, wings. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) told the Daily Mail that it has been "inundated" recently with calls from members of the public who have found bees on the ground apparently unable to fly.
Val Osborne, the charity's head of wildlife inquiries, said the bees are probably tired out and could be revived with a solution made up of two tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of water.
The newspaper said bad weather could be behind the bout of bee exhaustion.
Bees do not collect pollen when it is cold and wet, leaving them with more work to do when it is fine. Rain also washes pollen away, meaning they have to fly further afield to build up the hive's stock.
Ms Osborne said: "Busy as a bee is a true saying - bees are working to keep the planet's food chain intact and they really do deserve our help."
Last week, public body Natural England encouraged gardeners living in towns and cities to take up urban beekeeping.
