To Bee or not to Bee.......

Yes definitely lacking in honey bees here, been saying so all year. 

 But we do have loads and I mean loads of bumbles :)Wonder why

Seen quite a few white-bottomed bumble bees here, though they all seem to be on the small side.  Plenty of hoverflies too, and we saw the first hornet yesterday.  As for honey bees, we appear to have a bunch making a home in the garage - it's built of breeze blocks and clad in wood, and we think the bees are in the gap between.  Not a problem as my other half was planning on making a top-bar hive this year anyway, so we may end up with a swarm 'on tap' as it were!    We are right out in the countryside though, surrounded by fields, so that's got to make a difference.

Found 3 dead bees on the bedroom carpet last night and three more today so it was time to get the mastic gun out and seal around the board in the unused fireplace.
Lots of activity around the chimney cowl so it seems i have some resident pollinators .They are welcome to stay, but not in the bedroom.

Got a few solitary burrowing bees under the pear tree as well.

And white tail bumbles in the shed , no bee shortage here.

Sorry folks but i think all the honey bees have moved north  loads in our back garden today , mind you we have 100's of flowers in bloom 

We had a huge swarm of honey bees fly over the allotment yesterday, a cloud of about 300.    Also dug into my pile of well-rotted horse manure and accidentally came across a bumble in her nest (whoops) with a clutch of eggs- looked like dry red pomegranite seeds. Quickly covered it over and hoped she might recover  felt so guilty.

Very few of either bumble bees or bees in general here.

Recent research links part of the worldwide decline in honey bee populations to mobile phone towers. The magnetic radiation apparently disrupts the bees 'navigation system' and causes disorientation. They can't find their way home, the hive looses vigour and then becomes prone to attack from insects, robbing from other bees and disease. Probably a combination of many causes, including pesticides and loss of breeding places. We don't have as big a problem as elsewhere in the world, in Australia, but I imagine it is only a matter of time. Orchards and vineyards are now hiring hives to pollinate their crops. Trying to do my bit by keeping my own hives. Maybe allotments in the UK can add a couple of community bee hives...besides helping the bee populations, and the greater environment, vege crops will increase dramatically and there will be lots of real, non 'watered down' honey to share.