The best way to help bees? Don’t become a beekeeper like I did | Alison Benjamin

When I set up my honeybee hive, I had no idea I might be harming wild bee species. Now I've found better ways to encourage biodiversity

I took up urban beekeeping more than a decade ago with the best intentions. I wanted to help to save bees from the many threats they faced in the countryside - the modern farming practices that douse crops in toxic pesticides and rob bees of wildflower meadows. My small back garden filled with bee-friendly flowers seemed like a paradise in comparison.

But what I didn't know was that by keeping bees I would only be helping one species of bee - the domesticated honeybee, which doesn't really need saving - and possibly harming others.