To Bee or not to Bee – There is No Question

There really is no question about the importance of pollinators. Without them over 80% of the world’s flowering plants would not be able
to reproduce and 75% of crop plants require an element of animal pollination. And that includes the fruit and vegetables we eat everyday.

Your morning coffee is equally at risk if the population of pollinators declines. Bumblebees are one of the most effective pollinators.

Great Yellow bumble bees sightings are incredibly rare, the species has gone into significant decline in the last century but it is hoped that this rare bumble bee is clinging on in some areas of North Scotland.

The Great Yellow BumbleBee - image courtesy of the bumblebee conservation trust

The BumbleBee Conservation trust is initiating a concerted effort to monitor Bee populations in the hope some of this species continue to flourish.

Did you know: There are over 250 different species of bumblebee living in the United Kingdom.

Our Bumblebee Chart helps you with the identification of a few of them and you can download free bee(?!) spotting guides, posters and information on this link above. And they are free.

Golf courses continue to be a fantastic environment for Bee's to flourish, flower-rich grasslands found on golf course with areas of clover, thistles, vetches and knapweed are the perfect environment for these rare bee's to prosper. Management of these areas in a responsible and appropriate manner has become of increasing importance to turf managers in recent years.

The Great Yellow BumbleBee - image courtesy of the bumblebee conservation trust

Wouldn't it be great to see one of these rare bees in a golf course environment, Syngenta continue to support Operation Pollinator and offer a huge amount of supporting material here on our Greencast website and it's really easy to sign up for too - Online signup form.

The Great Yellow BumbleBee - image courtesy of the bumblebee conservation trust

Get involved in the Bumblebee conservation trusts data gathering exercise here at the Bumblebee conservation trust - Even if you haven't spotted a rare great yellow it's worth telling world what a great job we're doing of managing acres of fantastic and diverse habitats.

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