Nurturing Nature and solitary bees at Kew Gardens
A great day out at the Hive at Kew Gardens If you get the chance to visit the splendid gardens at Kew this year and possibly next year, you must visit the award winning Hive. I was n't sure what to expect as I approached this huge gleaming 'see through' metal hive on...
Osmia leaiana using Nurturing Nature solitary bee observation nest box 2016
Probably Osmia leaiana or a 'pesto bee!' A medium sized summer bee which has a bright orange pollen collecting brush (scopa) on her underside abdomen. It is also known as the Orange-vented Mason bee. As she does not use pieces of leaf (Leafcutter bee) or mud (Red...
Soil, seeds and water means food. Lets protect our soils. The skin of the earth.
Join the Soil Association and help protect the skin of our earth! Some time ago I had the great pleasure of teaching school children in Liverpool about organic and wildlife gardening on an allotment site. Alas after a for a few short years the funding ran out! We grew...
Death in the organic lavender bed at Ryton Gardens Bee Festival video
Death in the organic lavender bed at Ryton Gardens The Bee Festival, part of the Blooms for Bees campaign, which I attended this weekend was, for me, a resounding success. It was great to be surrounded by people that liked and were engaged in wild bees. I had scores...
Neonicotinoids, a new inadvertent contraceptive for honeybees and bumblebees?
Neonicotinoids, a new inadvertent contraceptive for bees? Not only may neonicotinoids be the new DDT, researchers have already found that neonicotinoids can reduce bumblebee queen reproduction by 85%! And now the latest research (see below) shows that neonicotinoids...
Gasteruption jaculator, a cleptoparasitic wasp, visits my wildlife garden
Gasteruption jaculator solitary wasp checks out my nest boxes This is a presumed Gasteruption jaculator solitary wasp. What a great name, I wonder what it is based upon? Its another new species I have noticed in the garden since I had my boring lawn ripped out and a...
Nurturing Nature attending BIAZA Conference on terrestrial invertebrates
Terrestrial Invertebrate & Native Species Working Group Conference 2016 Reaseheath College Presentation. "Is your bee hotel a reservoir for pests and disease?" Its a long slow process trying to wean people off from buying flimsy or totally unsuitable 'bee hotels'...
Bee Festival Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July 2016, Ryton Gardens
Bee Festival Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July 2016 With all these free activities and lectures, at Ryton Organic Gardens, if you do manage to get a minute, come and meet me at my stall with my Nurturing Nature award winning bee boxes!! Activities Free talks, walks...
Bumblebee nests 2016 in my wildlife garden, successes and failures
Six queens persuaded to nest 2016.... not all were successful I derive great pleasure in attracting queen bumblebees to nest in my wildlife garden. Its a part of spring/summer for me! This year I persuaded 6 to start nesting. I had two successful nest boxes. By...
Nurturing Nature bumblebee and solitary bee boxes used by Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens take possession of award winning wild bee nest boxes Nurturing Nature Bumblebee nest boxes formed part of the huge and impressive "Hive" as well as being used elsewhere at Kew for bumblebee research by Dr. Hauke Koch " The bumblebee boxes worked well...