Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2014 | Page 41

FEATURE

Please be friendly to bees this winter

T

he Island’s bee population is
currently gearing up for winter
and while many bee-friendly
plants are reaching the end of their
flowering season, there is still much that
can be done to help the bees survive the
winter ahead.
Five-star house builder David Wilson
Homes has a firm commitment
to supporting the insects with its
bee-friendly gardens and is supporting
Bees’ Needs, a new five-point plan to help
bees everywhere enjoy the winter.
They are being urged to help create or
improve a habitat for pollinators in five
simple ways:

Leave patches of land to grow wild
with plants like stinging nettles and
dandelions to provide other food sources,

"It is also important
to make sure they
can nest in safety
so that they and the
next generation can
survive over winter"

• Grow more nectar and pollen-rich
flowers, shrubs and trees.
• Leave patches of land to grow wild.
• Cut grass less often.
• Avoid disturbing or destroying nesting
or hibernating insects.
• Think carefully about whether to use
pesticides.

such as leaves for caterpillars, and
breeding places for butterflies and moths.
If possible, leave patches of long grass
where ins