Greenwich Bee keeping

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World Honey Bee Day – celebrated on the third Saturday of August – was first initiated in the USA to honour beekeepers and raises awareness of this special pollinator.

However, it since gained traction and is now observed annually across the globe.

Honey bees are social insects, meaning they live in large, well-organised family groups consisting of a mother (queen bee) and daughters (worker bees).

You can spot one of these helpful pollinators by looking at the shape of their body – slender and barrel-shaped, with wings that are slightly translucent.

Although the honey bee isn’t on the endangered list, numbers are dramatically dwindling in the UK, which poses a considerable threat to our eco-system.

Bees pollinate around one-third of crops and 90 per cent of wild plants, which in turn provides food for livestock.

The dwindling number of these pollinators in circulation provides serious ecological implications for biodiversity, the food chain, and ultimately, our ability to access food.