What are Bees?

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their role in pollination, producing honey and beeswax. Bees are from the monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea and are presently considered a clade, called Anthophila.

Are bees protected in the UK?

The short answer is no.

The reasons why many people may think bees have legal protection are numerous, although this mistaken belief has been passed on for decades. With regard to bees, there’s no mention of bees in the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981.

There is a piece of legislation called the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) which was originally published in 1994. The aim of this document is to “conserve and protect existing biological diversity and to enhance it wherever possible.” This is a document that has been several times over the years and contains the UK BAP priority terrestrial invertebrate species list. Priority species and habitats are “those that have been identified as being the most threatened and requiring conservation action”.

Despite being on the UK BAP, those species are not afforded any specific legal protection. Hopefully that clears up the confusion about whether or not bees are protected by law.

However, we do go to great lengths to be ethical in our work. If a nest must be removed, we try to do this physically rather than chemically, following industry standards and best practices.

What is good about bees?

All sorts of fruit and vegetables are pollinated by honey bees, such as broccoli and squash, apples and almonds. Pollination is not just important for the food we eat directly, it’s as vital for the fruit and vegetables we eat, as it is for the vegetation used to feed the livestock we depend on for meat.

What is their life cycle?

A  bee’s life cycle has four main distinct stages or phases, egg, larva, pupa and finally an adult.

Do they hibernate?

Bumble bees hibernate, honey bees do not. Although honey bees and bumble bees are very closely related, their winter behaviors are very different. A colony of honey bees will live throughout the entire winter, actively keeping the nest warm and safe. The queen bumble bees hibernate until spring.

What do they eat?

A sweet fluid found in flowers bees collect nectar and convert it to honey. Honey is produced to feed bee larvae, but larvae that are chosen to become future queens will be fed with royal jelly. Royal jelly is a white secretion produced by young, female worker bees.

How many bees are there in a nest?

Bee nests vary in size depending on the species and time of year. A well established nest may contain up to 400 bees. Honeybee hives typically contain 50,000 bees, very different in comparison. Look at this picture, taken this week of a Honeybee swarm. We were called out to a bee problem in a customers garden. We explained that it was best left in situ as it wasn’t causing a problem and would move on after it had rested.

How many stings can kill a human?

The average person can safely tolerate 10 stings per pound of body weight. The average adult can withstand more than 1000 stings, although 500 stings could kill a child. However 1 sting is enough to incapacitate  or kill a person who is allergic to the sting. If you think you might be having a reaction to a sting click this link.

How can the infestation be treated?

Standish Pest Control in Wigan has the technical knowledge and access to professional use insecticides (not available to the public) if they are needed and the appropriate protective equipment to avoid getting a nasty sting.

If at all possible we remove the nest upright in full, aiming to relocate it.

Standish Pest Control in Wigan will have the tools to reach and treat the most inaccessible nest in the safest way possible.

If we haven’t removed the nest on our first visit its possibly because it’s not accessible. Therefore, treating the access point and if possible the face of the nest is common practice and just as likely to have the desired effect.

Removing a nest that has been treated with a pesticide should be done with caution and wearing protective clothing and gloves.

Call to action

Quite often, we find our customers feel nothing short of overwhelmed by some of the work they need doing. We stop at nothing to explain thoroughly what needs doing. Describing what we will do it and ultimately what it will cost. We want to help you feel confident in us and the value of our work.

Rest assured that your problem won’t be the biggest we’ve seen or the smallest we’ve treated. We will be able to help, just need you to get in touch.

Call us on 07920001980 or use our contact page and tell us what the problem is.

Joke: What did the queen bee say to the naughty bee?

Bee-hive yourself!