National Bee counting day....in NL

Don't you love a country that has a National Bee counting day ?

Because bees that can't stand the cold this weekend did not show themselves, the National Bee Count is being extended until next Friday.

Around 2,600 people counted more than 19,000 bees this weekend, reports Netherlands Zoemt, a project by various nature organizations. Last year, 3500 people participated in the first count, they combined more than 36,000 bees.

A striking number of bumblebees were counted, which according to professor of Natural Capital Koos Biesmeijer can stand the cold. "They are hairy and have a physical advantage over other bees. They warm themselves up with the fly muscles in their chest before they fly to a plant or flower."

Honeybee most counted
The most counted bee is the honey bee, followed by the wild bee. Number three is the red brick mason, which feels good in urban areas and benefits from the many bee hotels. That also applies to the number five, the horned mason bee.

Dorien Ackerman from the Netherlands Zoemt calls the count successful, despite the cold. "It shows how involved people are with the welfare of the bee and nature. We expect that many more observations will come with the warm days ahead."

Threatened
With the National Bee Census, the Netherlands Zoemt wants to keep track of how the different species are doing together with LandscapesNL, Nature & Environment and Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability IVN. Half of the nearly 360 bee species that occur in the Netherlands are endangered. Bees are still important for our food: 80 percent of the edible crops depend on bees for pollination. Bees are also food for birds and ensure reproduction of wild plants.

According to the organization, five consecutive years have to be counted in order to clarify trends in bee populations of gardens and to be able to rule out influences such as the weather.
(From NOS news service)

There are, apparently, 360 species of bees in Holland.
We counted some bumblebees here, in Heelweg yard.
Everything is sprouting, blossoming  and blooming here now.

Had a nice evening bike ride an saw 6 deer in a nearby forest.