• According to a study conducted by the CNRS and the department, there are 571 different species of wild bees in the Hérault.

    This is the record in France.

  • There are simple actions to protect these essential insects for nature.

  • You can, for example, leave empty spaces in the gardens, plant aromatic plants on your balcony.

    And above all, avoid using chemicals.

Hérault is the department where the most species of wild bees have been listed in France: 571, according to a study conducted by the department and the CNRS.

While the department has launched a campaign to protect them,

20 Minutes

asked Jérôme Mauraisin, host at the Maison de l'Environnement, five useful gestures to preserve these insects whose action is essential for nature.

Plant flowers and trees

But beware, not just any. "Bees need plant essences, whose flowers provide enough pollen and nectar," says Jérôme Mauraisin. And you can even indulge yourself, for those who have a little bit of a garden, by planting a fruit tree, such as an apple, plum or apricot, for example. Pumpkins, pumpkins, zucchini, too, they love it. And for those who rather have a terrace or balcony, bees are also particularly fond of all aromatic plants, which do quite well in small pots. And ivy also does the job very well in the fall.

WHY BEES ARE ESSENTIAL?


👉1 / 3 of the food we eat depends on bees.

Without pollination, we could not consume many fruits & vegetables



🐝 In # Hérault there are nearly 600 different species



https://t.co/3Vl1Nd31kF

- Department of Hérault (@Heraultinfos) May 31, 2021

Leave spaces fallow

Rather than passing the mower everywhere, leaving natural spaces fallow, without touching them or almost, offers bees (and all their insect buddies) a wonderful play area. Around the garden, for example.

And "if you like to have your lawn well trimmed, you can make the effort in particular to raise the mowing grid of the mower so as not to cut below 8 cm, to give clovers or dandelions a chance, for example. , to go out, ”continues Jérôme Mauraisin.

Avoid toxic products for the environment

Pesticides and weedkillers are formidable enemies of nature. And so, for the bees. Their decline is explained, first of all, by the intensive use of chemicals. There are little tips to avoid them. "In a well-balanced garden, with a good ecosystem, we will find ladybird larvae, which will take care of aphids", for example, explains the animator of the Departmental House of the Environment. “Nature can do very well, when given a chance. "

The other tip is to only plant flowers or trees suitable for the soil and the environment.

“This will make it possible to avoid the excessive use of products, only because we want to support a plant that has no chance of flourishing here.

»To avoid products, we can also install nesting boxes that will attract swallows and tits, which will delight in caterpillars and mosquitoes.

Or plant resistant varieties.

Create a mini hotel

A good insect hotel is made up of small wooden planks, with holes of different diameters, up to 8 mm.

Solitary bees will be able to “take shelter there”, notes Jérôme Mauraisin, lay larvae and reproduce, but also protect themselves from external frost, before facing the outside world.

Some brands offer them, but you can also make one quite easily.

“It can be very fun to do with the family, with the children,” continues this environmental specialist.

On the Internet, there are lots of tutorials that allow you to create one.

Here, for example.

Prefer bee-friendly honeys

It is also a way of protecting bees: buying products from beekeepers who are particularly careful with the species, who do not use pesticides and who respect their rhythm of life.

One of the solutions may be to choose local honeys, "first of all, of course, for the carbon footprint of the product," says Jérôme Mauraisin.

But also because it is quite easy to go and see the beekeeper, see how he works.

The appellations of origin controlled on products can also guide consumers.

History to avoid at all costs the blended honeys, produced, very often, in an intensive way.

And that is not good for the bees.

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