PLAN bee is in full effect at a reservoir near Rugby.
The vital pollinators are buzzing at Draycote Water thanks to the creation of biodiversity habitats such as wildlife meadows and flower beds.
And site owner Severn Trent has added its support to World Bee Day, which celebrates everything about the pollen-loving insect.
There are around 250 species of bees in the UK who, along with other pollinators, help support everything from crop production to biodiversity and, indirectly, water quality.
But they have been under threat in recent decades from habitat loss caused by increasing urbanisation of the countryside, as well as farming pesticides.
Bryony Harrison, Senior Biodiversity Project Manager at Severn Trent, said: “Pollinators like bees are vitally important for the ecosystem because they are essential for the life cycle of almost all flowering plants.
“We do a lot of work on our own land, including with conservation groups like Buglife, to help them thrive. It’s a wonderful and positive part of the job.”
The water company has introduced closely-managed honeybee populations at Draycote, while a partnership with Buglife is also underway to help the insects further.
Bryony added: “We know that our land supports a huge range of important pollinators including bees.
“Our funding of the Buglife project is informed by its ‘B-Lines’ – insect pathways which are really important connectivity corridors.
“Bees are vital to our ecosystem, they are classed as a keystone species. If we did not have bees, there would not be a lot else going on.”
