Bees etc

Insects contribute an immeasurable amount to the regulation of the world’s ecology. In Britain, honeybees alone are estimated to be worth £165 million per annum to agriculture, by pollination of crop plants. There are around 250 species of bees in Britain, but of these, only honeybees live in large colonies that persist through the winter. My own beekeeping is small scale, with seven colonies in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. My aim is to selectively breed the native sub-species, Apis mellifera mellifera. The bees are located on the edge of woodland in an area of pastoral farming, producing a good quality honey from a diverse range of flowers. My bees also provide many photo-opportunities, but in addition I am building up a collection of images of solitary bees, bumble bees, wasps and ichneumons. All these insects belong to a group of insects called the hymenoptera, which also includes ants and sawflies. There are other insects that mimic bees and wasps by means of a visual resemblance. These generally belong to another group of insects, the Diptera, and the most notable examples are the hoverflies.

At present this web site contains photographs of several examples of bees, wasps and hoverflies. During the summer I hope to add sections on beekeeping.

Click the picture links below for photo galleries of these insects.