This is a very good program, you must watch

[Fluorescent green]

Hi

Bees are dying in their millions. It's an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the reasons behind the decline of bee colonies across the globe, investigating what might be at the root of this devastation.

Watch it tonight on BBC4 at 8pm or you can watch online for the next 6 days.

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BBC - BBC Four Programmes - Who Killed the Honey Bee?

FG

[chrispy]

I watched this on the I-player the other day whilst potting on toms, it was really interesting, and quite scarey at the same time....
Would love to have a go at Bee keeping, but it might not go down too well with the neighbours

[selfraising]

Thanks for this, have got it on now!

[kate&rob]

haven't had chance to watch it yet but i would have thought the use of so many pesticides on crops can't be a good thing along with people wanting concrete gardens. will watch the prog. later

[rogesse]

OH & I watched on replay (thank you)

Seemed to confirm the pesticide/errosion of natures defences -OH is mad keen on getting some bees but again the neighbours....

[FB.]

Would love to have a go at Bee keeping, but it might not go down too well with the neighbours

OH is mad keen on getting some bees but again the neighbours....

Why not plant your garden with lots of unsprayed, bee-friendly flowers and try to encourage nesting of solitary bees (almost harmless) and bumblebees (less risky than honey bees, due to much smaller numbers of bees per nest).

I recently found a bumblebee nesting in one of my composters. I'm happy for it to build a nest there - I'll stop using the composter until the bees die-off in the autumn/winter and then I'll empty it and start again.
I've now tried some experiments, using upturned plants pots, filled with straw and garden rubbish (small twigs, dry leaves, dry grass etc), with a half-brick, or lump of wood on top to weigh them down in the wind - the lump of wood on top should also stop rain getting through the holes in the upturned plant pot. Probably a bit late this year, but the "nests" can stay in place for next year.
For some years, I've also been encouraging solitary bees (mason bee, mining bee and leafcutter bee are all in the area and visit my garden flowers every year). I have some nests up for the mason and leafcutters, too - and they sometimes nest in small holes in my house walls. I've seen mason and mining bees on-and-off in my area for some weeks now, but not as many as I'd like to see.
The arrival of the leafcutters coincides with the Mrs' finding that her rose bushes have half-inch, semi-circular pieces removed from the egde of the leaves. A leafcutter bee can cut-out a piece of rose leaf, half the size of a 1p coin, in a matter of seconds. Fascinating to watch, but a bit unsightly on their chosen rose bush target - and no sprays of any kind are allowed on the roses, otherwise the leafcutters will pick up chemical traces.