NATURAL hives for dwindling colonies of wild bees are being built at the Blenheim Estate.

The estate’s rural team is creating the hives from wood from their timber stacks, many with rot or holes in, which mimic the types of sites wild bees would naturally choose to nest.

“All bees are increasingly under threat, particularly our native species so providing these hives is really important to help support and protect them,” said Blenheim Estate’s head forester Nick Baimbridge.

“The incredibly rich mix of wildflowers and nectar-producing plants we have here on the estate means we are a haven for native bees and we’re incredibly fortunate to have a self-sustaining population.

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“However as numbers elsewhere continue to plummet we want to do everything we can to not only protect our population but also to encourage it to grow.”

The team will be putting the natural hives at key locations where wild bees have been spotted.

According to a recent study published in Nature Communications, one-third of the UK’s wild bee population has disappeared over the past 30 years due to climate change, habitat loss and intensive farming methods.