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According to the old adage: a swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay, a swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon. So what is a swarm of bees in April worth? No, I couldn't think of a rhyme either.It can't happen very often, so I was very

I always get a real thrill when I find the telltale marks of the leafcutter bee on the leaves of my roses and wisteria. Sometimes I catch them in action, cutting out a circle of leaf, or flying around carrying it. It doesn't bother me to find plants

Most gardeners are now aware of the diminishing number of bees. Bumble, honey and solitary bees are all in decline. On the whole, blame can be apportioned to loss of habitat: hedgerows are now scarce, while use of herbicides has depleted food

Nesting female bees cut out immediately obvious elliptical shapes from the edges of a leaf to make their cells for laying eggs. Since one female might need 20 or so cells, that's a lot of leaf cutting, particularly when the bee keeps returning

There's something buzzing round the grape hyacinths. It's a fat, furry brown bee and it's being very animated. I love these insects and get a real buzz myself seeing them each year, because they're one of the true heralds of spring. Anthophora

The south-facing fence of our garden is covered all over with ivy, and the leaves are prime basking territory for all manner of insects. This last week, the solitary bees have started to reappear in droves. There are very many species all looking a

Make a bee-lineGreat flowers start with pollination, and for that you need bees. Find out how to get the busiest garden insects to work for you.How to... make a bee hotelGardens are extremely important for bumblebees, and vice versa. Bees need

as payment!!). But that's not all. Yesterday's whole lunch was punctuated by the activities of a very persistent bee, particularly determined to get to the table - not the food on it (or under it), but to one particular piece of timber. I've got used

others by. They may spend the whole day in this fixed forage pattern. The plants benefit from having their pollen carried directly from male to female of the same species, without having it splashed wastefully over aliens. The bees benefit from targeting

Give beneficial pollinating insects a home by making a bee hotel. The female of the non-aggressive mason bee species spends most of her life searching for hollow stems to use as a nest. So why not make a bee hotel for her in which she can lay her