Bees are thriving as pollution levels fall across the UK due to lockdown

Nature is thriving in lockdown and now, Britain’s biggest bee farm reports that the bees are benefiting too. 

Air pollution has fallen across the UK as people are inside doing their bit to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Fewer people are using their cars and there is generally less polluting traffic in the UK.

There have been many reports of how the environment has benefitted throughout lockdown with loads of animals taking back cities. There have even been sheep queuing for a Maccies. 

Beekeeper, Helen McGregor told Metro that the current situation has made people more aware of nature and that it is now benefiting bees.

Her family own the largest bee farm in Britain, home to around 4,000 hives each housing 50,000 bees, that was started in the 1940s by her grandfather, Kenneth McGregor.

There are hundreds of their sites across the UK, six of which are being checked by five teams daily.

Bee populations have been rapidly declining globally in recent years due to loss of habitats, pollution levels and the use of pesticides in crop growth used to feed humans.

But bees are imperative to the survival of the world, providing a service to the entire ecosystem through pollination.

Bee pollination contributes £690m to the UK economy yearly according to a study by University of Reading. 

The reduction in air pollution due to lockdown has reduced the number of bee deaths and will have a huge benefit to bee populations.