Ever since there have been flowers, there have been insects to pollinate these flowers.
Bees are rewarded by the plant with food; the nectar and pollen from the flowers. They need it for energy and that is why you always see lots of bees flying around in flowerfield. But in the Netherlands (as in most European countries) the number of flowers is decreasing, and that is why the bees are in danger.
Did you know that we have over 350 different species of bees in the Netherlands? The bee that we know from the pots of honey is only one of them!
ortunately, there are many people who are happy to help the bees! Throughout the country, wild flowers are sown to supplement the food shortage for the bees. Different types of flowers are used in different compositions. But which flowers are the best for our bees? This is exactly what I am going to investigate. I am Lisette van Kolfschoten and as a trainee at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. I am going to study the wild bees and the flowers that they need.
Not all plants are in bloom at the same time, therefore I will look in the coming 4 months to fields where 4 different seed mixtures have been sown. I am going to watch which different types of bee land on the flowers and which flowers are most popular. In this way we learn more and more about the favorite food of our wild bees!
By Lisette van Kolfschoten
Bee researcher Naturalis Biodiversity Center