What’s the biggest bee you have ever seen? What’s the smallest bee you have ever seen? How much honey does a bee make? These were all very good questions from the children from four Weymouth primary schools that our Beekeeper, Robin Dean was asked when he visited to install a Bee Hotel and tell the children about beekeeping.
So when one Year 5 pupil at St John’s Primary asked what Sainsbury’s has to do with bees Robin buzzed in to action.
"Bees pollinate over 80% of our food production and without them we wouldn’t get all the amazing fruit, vegetables and cereals that we enjoy every day."
Robin is a beekpeeper on a mission, promoting Sainsbury’s Bee Hotel programme – a national scheme to protect the UK’s bees and wildflowers. He’s also teaching school children how to respect their bee neighbours and how to build Bee Hotels with them to help different bee species survive.
"We have over 250 different species of bees in the UK", continues Robin, "but numbers are falling mainly due to a lack of nesting sites. Bees play a huge part on our business because without them our farmers and growers just wouldn’t be able to grow all the food for our customers."
"So will we get lots of honey now?", came the question from another pupil.

"No, out of the 250 different species, only one bee species makes honey. Our Hotels will be a good space for solitary bees to live and help them do all of the pollenating. Sainsbury’s Bee Hotels will offer bees space to rest, recharge and also for the female bees to lay their eggs. So it’s really important that we give them a Bee Café too so they have lots of tasty flowers close-by to pollenate. But don't worry; these solitary bees don’t sting because they have no honey to protect."
Once up to speed on their bees some of the children had the opportunity to help build their own Bee Hotel, a mix of different sized bamboo tubes packaged tightly into a box and mounted on the wall.

The new residents won’t look quite like the fluffy bumble bee we are accustomed to, they are usually a lot darker, mostly black or dark ginger and have hints of metallic blue.
As part of Sainsbury’s ambition to be the biggest owner of Bee Hotels in the country by 2020, Robin is working to ensure Sainsbury’s has Bee Hotels and a Bee Cafés at every store in the UK.

More information on Sainsbury's Bee Hotels.
Thanks to Southhill Primary, St John’s Primary, Radipole Primary and St Nicolas & St Laurence Primary Schools for welcoming us.