Monday 5 February 2018


Bee Guardians

We are passionate about bees at Wicor Primary.  Not only do we have four hives of honey bees, but we have just become bee guardians too with bees arriving in the post (much to the curiosity of Mrs Grist in the office)……


It all started about a year ago when we listened to an assembly by our Headteacher Mr Wildman.  He told us all about the plight of bees and that we needed to do something to help.  After a bit of research we found out about solitary bees.  We were intrigued to find out that they don’t sting and that they live alone.  We also found out about how important they are when it comes to pollination.  At around the same time our teachers heard about a scheme to become ‘Bee Guardians’ for red mason bees and so we applied.  The red mason bee (Osmia bicornis), is an endangered native solitary bee, that doesn’t produce honey but which are really good pollinators.   This bee doesn’t have any pollen sacs, like our honey bees, instead the pollen gets stuck to the furry underside of its body and transferred to other plants that way.  It also simply loves fruit trees – which is why we placed the bee home by the raspberries and apple trees.  Hopefully, we will get a really good crop again this year.  Through the post, arrived the bee home with a letter telling us when, how and where to construct it.  We had a couple of months before it was needed so it was tucked away ready. 

Then last Friday a tube arrived in the post with a letter telling us there were ‘live animals’ inside.  A little bit of cracking could be heard from the tube so we thought the bee home had better be constructed and the bees deposited inside.  The home was placed in our allotment, right next to the raspberry canes and just a short flight to our heritage orchard.  Then the pupating bees were placed inside the home.  When the weather warms up the bees will emerge from the tubes and settle into the garden.  The instructions with the bees told us that they will spend about two weeks settling into their new territories and mating before pollinating.  The pollen the bees collect gets packed into individual cells which are made of mud, so it is really important to have damp soil in a garden if they are to survive.  This is great news as it means we have to make sure there is always a muddy puddle near the bee home.  Once the cell is packed with pollen, the female will lay an egg in each cell, seal it with mud and then go on to make another cell.  The tubes are completely filled with eggs, with the females in the middle of the tube and the males at either end so the males emerge first in spring.  They are the only bees legally allowed to be kept on allotments because they do not sting so they are fantastic for our school.  In September we will be sending the filled tubes back to the Bee Guardian company who will overwinter them and keep the bees healthy.  The brilliant bit is that next spring we will get a fresh batch of tubes and some more cocoons so we can keep helping the bees year after year.  What’s not to love about that?