Research shows bees active in woodland tree-tops

Research carried out by a team at the University of East Anglia has revealed wild bees may be just as happy visiting the high canopy of woodlands as they are among the flowers at ground level.

Shaded woodland interiors have previously been discounted by experts as poor foraging habitats for sun-loving bees, and consequently bee activity in woodland canopies has not been investigated in detail. 

However, the study published by researchers at UEA has revealed a diverse community of wild bees are active high up above the shade - among the trees’ branches and foliage in the sunlit woodland canopy. 

Following investigations of bee communities across 15 woodland sites in a farmed landscape in Norfolk in late spring, a research team discovered woodland canopies may play a more significant role in bee conservation than previously thought, with nectar and pollen-rich Sycamore trees proving particularly attractive to bees.

The team examined levels of bee activity in four habitats - in the canopy (at heights of up to 20 metres) and understory of both woodland interiors and exposed woodland edges. 

Researchers discovered bee communities differ between the woodland canopy and understory but were just as abundant in the understories of woodland interiors as they were at the sun-exposed edges bordering farmland.