As it is Solitary Bee Week we have put all our Bee related activities on one post.

White Tailed Bumble Bees are a common site, but they are only 1 of 270 species of Bee living in Britain.

270 separate species of Bees have been recorded in the UK. 90% of these species are Solitary Bees. The remaining 10% are made up of Bumble Bees and Honey Bees. Bellow is a picture of a Honey Bee and a Red Tailed Bumblebee.

Solitary Bees live alone in holes in wood or in the ground. They don’t produce wax or honey, so they are actually better at pollinating than Honey Bees or Bumble Bees. This is because, unlike the other types of Bees, they don’t have pollen baskets. This means they drop lots of pollen. Solitary Bees are therefore crucial to our food chains and should be celebrated and protected.

Bare patches of earth are great for Solitary Bees as many like to ‘mine’ a home.

Below are five ways you can celebrate and raise awareness of Bees.

Go on a Bug Hunt

This ‘Wanna-Bee’ is actually a Hoverfly.

We shared a post in the Spring all about our passion for a Mini-Beast Safari. You could go on a bug hunt and pay special attention to the Bees. Can you spot any Solitary Bees? Can you see any places they might live? Can you tell the difference between a Honey Bee and a Bumblebee? Can you find any ‘Wanna-Bees’? These are insects that try to look like Bees as a form of defense! One way of identifying these is by their forward facing eyes. Bees eyes are always on the side of their heads. The Bumble Bee Conservation Trust have launched an app to help with Bee identification.

Make a Pine Cone Bee

This is one of our favorite activities and a lovely way to start talking about Bees.

Build a Mini-Beast Hotel (With a Bee ‘Wing’)

Solitary Bees need places to nest and you can add materials to a Mini-Beast Hotel that will suit them.

Make a Clay or Salt Dough Bee

If you want to make a Bee that is a little more anatomically correct than a Pine Cone Bee, you could have a go with clay or salt dough. How about finding some seed pods for wings? What could you use as eyes?

Earn Your Stripes

Visit the Solitary Bee Week website and pledge to help Solitary Bees. There is advice on the website ranging from how to plant a wild flower garden to how to raise awareness.