The Malvern Hills Trust is encouraging people to discover more about bees after their bee walk this weekend was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
A guided walk with local expert Richard Comont to identify and learn more about bees was due to be held on Saturday 11th July as part of the Trust’s annual events programme.
In the absence of a walk, the Trust has provided more information about these creatures to help people find out more about bees and their importance in the landscape.
Beck Baker, Community and Conservation Officer said, “We are disappointed to not be running our planned bee walk this weekend due to the outbreak of Covid -19.”
“The great thing about nature is that it’s still there for people to enjoy and appreciate so we’ve provided some more information to help you get more familiar with our local buzzing bees.”
There are more than 250 species of bee in the UK and they range from the familiar bumblebees and honeybees to the mining and mason bees. They play an important role within the environment by pollinating both wildflowers and crops.
“Bees can be found in a wide range of habitats from grasslands to woodland so it’s worth taking the time on your walks around the Hills and Commons to spot these stripy critters. We've put together a map of our local meadows which are good places to look for bees and butterflies”
Bumblebee Conservation Trust recently launched a new app to help the public identify the most common bumblebees in the UK. The ‘What’s that bumblebee’ app brings bees to 3D virtual life aiding the identification of commons species and is available from their website.
The Trust runs a series of guided nature and heritage walks around the Malvern Hills and Commons each year however, current restrictions on gatherings and social distancing requirements have resulted in the Trust cancelling their events.
Beck added “If circumstances allow we hope to go ahead with some of our planned events this autumn, if not then we look forward to restarting in the spring of 2021 and look forward to seeing you then.”
