When we are being as busy as a bee, we find the time to rest, refresh and give ourselves that much needed boost of energy. Sometimes this isn’t so easy for bees themselves, but you could help revive a tired individual and send it buzzing healthily on its way!

Bees use a lot of energy  when flying, but can struggle to find food sources where they can replenish this lost energy. You may notice that some have become exhausted and lying on the ground, seemingly dead, as they rest a while.

The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is suggesting that a sweet drink, made from sugar and water, could give them that much needed energy boost. Simply mixing around two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water, and placing the mix in a small container like an egg cup among bees’ favourite flowers, will help revive a busy bee. No more than these amounts should be put out at any one time so they don’t have excess amounts of sugar. Small containers are also a good idea so that birds don’t dive in for a sugary bath.

Bees will lap this up, and use the energy to heat their bodies up and fly off!

Bees are working hard to save the planet and really do need our help. They pollinate the crops that provide us with food to eat and the colourful flowers in our landscape. Without their ‘free bee’ service, many wildflowers could disappear. Key ingredients from our diets, such as beans, peas, raspberries and tomatoes would be harder to produce and much more expensive without British bumblebees.

They also help each other out with their smelly feet! – After feeding, they leave a scent on the flower which helps other bees to avoid wasting energy landing – the flower will contain very little nectar or pollen. Very courteous!