Museum Beehive Creates A Buzz About Bees

A 'bee tree' which give you a bees'-eye view of a honeybee hive has been set up in the Wildlife Garden at the Natural History Museum in London.

The 2.5m high tree trunk is a natural beehive which allows museum visitors to watch the bees at work.

The beehive is part of a project to raise awareness about the plight of the honeybee, whose numbers are falling in the UK and worldwide.

It was unveiled by TV wildlife presenter Bill Oddie, who you see in this photo standing next to the 'bee tree'. (There's a close-up photo of the bees below.)

© NHM

Bill says: "The British honeybee population has taken a bit of a bashing over the winter and their numbers need a boost.

From planting flowers in window boxes to ensuring the preservation of our natural green spaces, we can all do our bit to help."

© NHM

Here's Bill with John Chapple from the London Beekeeper's Association, helping to install the hive. (We love John's bee-patterned shirt!)

© NHM

The honeybee has an important job to do - creating honey and helping to maintain the healthy growth of plants and flowers.

As they feed on plant nectar, honeybees move pollen from one plant to another, which means the plants can produce seeds. This is called pollination.

© Pekka Pönttö

Pollination by bees is vital for loads of food plants in Europe.

These include cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, apples, avocado, cashew nut, peanut, grapes, olive and coffee.

© Christine Weber

Honeybee numbers have dropped by as much as 80% (more than three quarters) in some parts of the UK. In the USA, bee colonies have died or disappeared for unknown reasons, and there are worries that this may be happening here too.

To help build up the bee population, people are being encouraged to let a part of their garden return to nature, so that wild flowers can grow. Bees love wild flowers, and some bumblebees are especially keen on red clover.

For loads more facts and figures about bees, buzz off to the Natural History Museum's Honeybees - What's All The Buzz About? page.

Want to know what type of bee you've spotted? Check out the their online British Bumblebee Identification Guide.

© Lev Olsen

Oxford University Museum of Natural History has a small hive of honeybees - you can peer through the glass to get an insight into the life of these amazing insects.

You can also see a live colony of bees at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield.

If you live in or near to Bedford, why not go along to Beekeeping Day at Bedford Museum on Sunday 20 May 2007?

Discover what goes on in a bee hive, find out how bees make honey and see them at work in the observation hive.

© Bedford Museum

This isn't from a museum, but it's a great animation about the daily life of a honeybee... dare you Enter The Hive?

If you want more minibeasts, scuttle over to our Show Me story Summer Sunshine Brings Out The Minibeasts for bug photos, facts and games.