When I set up my honeybee hive, I had no idea I might be harming wild bee species. Now I’ve found better ways to encourage biodiversity, says journalist and author Alison Benjamin

I took up urban beekeeping more than a decade ago with the best intentions. I wanted to help to save bees from the many threats they faced in the countryside – the modern farming practices that douse crops in toxic pesticides and rob bees of wildflower meadows. My small back garden filled with bee-friendly flowers seemed like a paradise in comparison.

But what I didn’t know was that by keeping bees I would only be helping one species of bee – the domesticated honeybee, which doesn’t really need saving – and possibly harming others.

  • GreatAlbatrossAEnglish
    12·
    8 months ago

    This is interesting, a few years back I was planning to get into beekeeping.

    Life got in the way, but while it got in the way, this was raised, and I kinda agree. I wasn’t in it for the honey, so I’m far better off just making my garden nice for bumbles.

    The plan now is to pick out some flowers that bloom at different times to maximise the food available to them. And perhaps sow things like clover in the lawn.