Scientists have discovered that bees prefer working class gardens for their habitat.
The team from Leeds University made the discovery after studying 24 gardens over two years.
They had expected affluent gardens to have more bees because they tend to have greater plant diversity.
But scientists have found that bees are pickier over where they like to feed than they had realised.
Affluent gardens tend to contain more hybrid plants such as pansies and petunias which are specially bred to look attractive, but actually contain relatively little pollen which the bees feed on.
Working class gardens tend to contain less complex flowers with fewer petals which make their pollen easier for bees to reach.
Ouseburn City Farm’s Beekeeper Ian Wallace has noted an increase in the number of bees in the Byker area over the past three years.
He said: “Further research is needed on this, but it’s a really good indicator and shows that bees can prosper in some of the areas you wouldn’t necessarily expect them to.”
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