IN her latest regular contribution to Maldon Nub News, nature writer Jo Phillips talks all about the bees.

Autumn may seem to be an unusual time to discuss bees as spring is normally the time when they hit the local social media pages with their swarming habits, but more on that in spring - for now they are without doubt the pin-up stars of the insect world and with their pollinating superpowers they deserve some attention, awareness and a spot of planning if we are to help them as much as possible.

Over the past few years with the increased awareness of the importance of pollinators and the knowledge that our nature is in decline our attitude to bees has changed. Thankfully, we have become much more accepting of our furry, flying friends. The arrival of a bee at a picnic is more likely to result in him being greeted, welcomed and asked if he is need of a sugary drink from a spoon than squished under the plastic lid of the humous pot!

Although some bee species will be returning to overwinter in their hives others such as bumble, carder and honey bees will continue to gather in food for as long as they can. Bumble bees can even make a surprise appearance during mild days in winter.

What the bee really needs is for his pollen and nectar season to be extended as much as possible, and with a bit of help from us we can provide plants that flower late into autumn and then early in spring. At the moment you will see bees visiting the flowers that are still blooming and it is so lovely to see that a 1970's favourite, the dahlia, has made a huge comeback recently as these flower well into autumn. The other fantastic food source for bees is ivy. There is a bit of a love-hate relationship with many gardeners when it comes to ivy but from a biodiversity point of view it's a good friend to nature. It provides cover, and shelter for birds and a food source when everything else is very thin

energy so the less effort it takes finding and collecting it from the flower the better.

Open petals or lots of flowers with easy access is best, many double flowers or fancy, frilly ones are just too hard or almost impossible to feed from.

If you are beginner don't try too hard to get it right. The bees are not going to judge you on your aesthetic display of spring bulbs or worry if your pots match. You don't have to travel far either.

During lockdown The Emporium and Claremont Nurseries both did a fantastic job of helping people get what they needed to make the most of their gardens & look after nature.

Thankfully none of your wildlife visitors are going to give you marks for any habitat efforts you make for them. Our wild area is to most people's eyes a dumping ground at the bottom of the garden hidden behind a tree, but it serves its purpose well.

The most important thing is that you do something. Get some compost, a few bulbs and plant them, so that in spring not only can you feel worthy inside that you have been a bee's new best buddy, but you have lovely spring flowers to enjoy as well.

If like many people you have felt that you would like to continue to be more aware and connected to nature since the arrival of Covid-19, follow a bee. The next time you see a bee, spend a few minutes watching what they get up to. You will see that sometimes they feed on the flower, but then other times fly off reasonably quickly. That's because bees are smelly! A bee can smell if another bee has visited that flower and if they smell a bee they know that flower pantry has been raided!