With warm weather extremes now the norm in the UK, protecting bees' nesting resources is more important than ever, says Blenheim Palace's resident bee expert.

The Met Office's latest State of the UK Climate report, published this week, says that the country's changing weather patterns mean the UK now experiences a "notably different" climate to what it was just a few decades ago, with average temperatures warming steadily since the 1980s. The last three years have been in the UK's top five warmest on record, with 2024 the fourth warmest year in records dating back to 1884. 

Blenheim's ancient woodland is home to over 76 colonies of wild bees, who could suffer in hot, variable weather, potentially experiencing heat stress that can affect their foraging, fertility, and overall colony health were it not for the unique environment. 

Filipe Salbany, Blenheim Palace's resident bee expert, says it's vital to protect both living and dead trees which provide a cooling refuge which is vital for bee wellbeing:

He said: "By combining the protection of living and dead legacy trees with forward­-looking planting strategies, we can preserve the nesting resources and thermal refugia that bees require in an increasingly warm climate.

"What it essentially comes down to is preservation of the countryside. Bees in the trees are already prepared for the season, compared to the managed colonies on the ground. Bees living freely in tree hollows, often 16-24m above the ground, rely on the deep, shaded cavities of living veteran and ancient trees to counteract high temperatures. 

"These 'living giants' in the ancient woodland maintain cooler, more stable microclimates that are essential for brood development and foraging activity as regional temperatures rise. Equally important is the retention of standing dead trees, whose desiccated heartwood continues to offer nesting sites for cavity nesting species."

Filipe has proposed the following strategies to help the UK's native bee population combat the warming climate:

• Protect living veteran and ancient trees whose continued growth and internal decay create optimal nesting cavities

• Retain 'monoliths' (dead standing trees), wherever ecologically safe, recognising their value as persistent nesting refugia, and cavities for multiple species

• Plant native saplings allowing strong taproot systems to develop so as to ensure structural and climate resilience with the potential capacity, to eventually develop into veteran trees

• Maintain habitat connectivity and reduce pesticide exposure to support healthy bee populations

In 2023, Blenheim Palace joined forces with Rowse Honey to deliver an ambitious conservation project to transform the Oxfordshire estate, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into a thriving haven for pollinators, such as butterflies, honeybees, mining bees and damselflies. It set out to restore pollinator habitats, including supporting existing wild bee colonies, enhancing soil health, reconnecting fragmented ecological corridors and regenerating wildflower meadows across the estate.

As part of the initiative, 50 acres of former arable fields have been transformed into rich, biodiverse habitats, and 300 acres of new woodlands have been undersown with wildflower grassland. The project's success has been clearly measurable, with over 229 species of hymenoptera (membrane wing insects) including very rare solitary bees such as Crossocerus walkeri (possibly the only known record in Oxfordshire), 23 species of butterflies, and the return of 11 nationally declining bird species, such as skylarks, oystercatchers and song thrushes, to areas restored under the pollinator strategy.

For more information about Blenheim Palace and Rowse Honey's partnership, visit https://www.blenheimpalace.com/stories/rowse-pollinator-partnership.html.