‘You don’t need a hive on your office roof to help bees’ When Weil law firm approached Urban Bees seven years ago to find out how it could best help bees, we recommended that its south-facing terrace eight floors above Fetter Lane could provide an oasis for solitary bees, which are important, but often forgotten pollinators. Urban Bees worked closely with the Weil gardener, Matt Bell, advising on flowers, shrubs and herbs to provide these wild bees with nutritious pollen and nectar from early spring to late summer. Then we installed bee hotels, thanks to the support of Margaret Lloyd, Weil F ..read more

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Eight months after we planted lots of new flowers (in response to the drought in 2022) on the roof 8 storeys up on Bread Street in the City, many are thriving, and have been joined by some blow ins – flowers that have arrived another way. Birds have deposited the seeds, or they’ve been blown in -like the yellow, dandelion-like flower above and the patch of Red dead-nettle below (middle), which is important food for long-tongued bees in spring, like Hairy-footed flower bees and Common carder bees. The red campion is back, despite removing most of it as it was taking over, and I want to have a ..read more

This month, hopefully you will see at least one new bumblebee species, a new mason bee, four types of mining bee, the now familiar Hairy-footed flower bee, and two ‘cuckoo’ bees – the Mourning bee and the Vestal cuckoo bee. (All photos credit: Penny Metal) You will continue to see some of the bumblebees you first spotted in March and April, but instead of queens you will now probably be seeing the smaller worker bees foraging on flowering trees and plants.   How to ID May bumblebees: Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) with their ginger th ..read more

Pictured above are two bumblebee species you’re likely to see this month: Early and Red-tailed bumblebees. (In addition you may also see buff-tailed bumblebees which have been flying all year in some southern parts of the UK, Common carder bees (Bombus pascuorum) and Tree bumblebees, which are all starting to emerge). How to ID them: The Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is smaller than other bumblebee species (up to 13mm) and prettier with her fluffy yellow collar and her noticeable orangey bottom. As her English name suggests, this is a spring specialist. The queens started to ap ..read more

If you’re new to bee spotting, now is the month when you can really begin. If you’ve been waiting all winter to get back to bee spotting, now’s the month to resume on dry, sunny days. In March you could see three species of bumblebee: The Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) queen is smaller (14mm) and prettier with her fluffy yellow collar and orangey bottom. The Common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) The queen bumblebees are collecting (cardering) bits of moss to line their nest which they make above ground in undisturbed areas at the bottom of gardens. They also need nectar to fuel their ..read more

Tips for IDing February bees: The arrival of the male Hairy-Footed Flower Bee by the end of the month is quite an event as he heralds the stirrings of spring. Although he’s a solitary bee, he is often mistaken for a bumblebee because of his cute, fluffy appearance. You may even glimpse a slightly larger and more ginger-coloured Tree bumblebee queen foraging around the same time. Before then, we need to content ourselves with sightings of huge Buff-tailed Bumblebee queens and smaller workers, and Honeybees. How to ID Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris):-workers and queens ..read more

Bee spotting is a rare pursuit this month as only two bee species fly at this time of year when it’s cold, dark and there’s little food around. The two species are Buff-tailed bumblebees and honeybees, and in some areas it will only be the latter. On the plus side, it’s harder to get the ID wrong! Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) – these fluffy, plump golden-striped bumblebees are the ones you’re most likely to see foraging between now and February, especially if you live in a city in the south of England. This winter activity was first recognised in the late 1990s when buff-t ..read more

Year-long partnership with Reddie & Grose Patent law firm with offices in east London, Cambridge and Munich. Involved introducing staff to our 270 bee species, talks on how they can plant for bees at home and making bee hotels for Red mason bees to check into. We also highlighted a bee of the month for their social media feeds. Created a new bee garden on the 12th floor of Bartholomew Close in the City (pictured middle). We installed 4 wooden planters each around 2m x 2m and 30mm deep, fitted with a drip irrigation system, and filled one with spring flowering plants, another with mid ..read more

Buff-tailed bumblebee worker Honeybee with pollen on her back legs Tips for IDing December bumblebees: It’s not that you won’t see bees this month, but only two species fly in the winter. And only on mild, dry days, or when it’s bright and sunny (even sometimes when there is snow on the ground!) Given there are only two winter fliers, bee identification is a lot less interesting than in spring and summer, but it is much easier. You are either observing a wild, Buff-tailed bumblebee or a managed honeybee, and in some parts of the UK it will only be the latter as the Buff-tailed bumblebees q ..read more