My Music Brings All The Bees to the Yard: New Research Reveals How to Attract Bees to Your Garden

There are a lot of sounds we've missed in our gardens over the winter. From the twittering of birds to the laughter of children and the chatter of friends over a barbecue. There are certain sounds that we associate with summer and fun - but are we at risk of missing out on one of the main hums of the summer?

According to experts at Bug Life, the number of bees in our gardens has declined by a third in the past 40 years with our environment ever changing.

As one of the UK's leading tile specialists with a range of specific outdoor tiles, we at Topps Tiles know how important bees are to a healthy environment, and that's why we've looked a little deeper into how we can attract bees to our gardens this summer. And the answer could be as simple as the right tunes!

Bees have inspired countless composers and musicians over the centuries with their tuneful buzzing, but do bees themselves reap the benefits of this music?

According to research published by the Public Library of Science, honey bees have evolved a form of communication known as the “waggle” dance, where a worker bee will share information related to food sources (sources of nectar or pollen). All the produced sounds are synchronized to a uniform frequency over a given period, regardless of whether they are produced by a single insect or by an entire group.

It has been shown that these dances emit sounds primarily at about 250-300 Hz.

On this basis, we started a search for the songs we can play this summer that are most likely to attract bees to your garden...

Studies have shown that bees can detect the air-particle movements associated with airborne sounds and can detect sound frequencies up to about 500 Hz.

This means that bees are attracted to music with a 250-500 Hz frequency as it is reminiscent of the sounds they produce in the hive.

1. 1. Crossroads - Cream
2. 2. Stand By Me - Ben E King
3. 3. So What - Miles Davies
4. 4. My Generation - The Who
5. 5. Riders on the Storm - The Doors
6. 6. Teen Town - Weather Report
7. 7. Give it Away - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
8. 8. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
9. 9. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
10. 10. Hysteria - Muse
11. 11. The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
12. 12. I Wish - Stevie Wonder
13. 13. Freewill - Rush
14. 14. Phantom of the Opera - Motörhead
15. 15. Come Together - The Beatles
16. 16. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
17. 17. The Chicken - Jaco Pastorius, Peter Lübke, Biréli Lagrène
18. 18. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
19. 19. Bullet in the Head - Rage Against the Machine
20. 20. Sabotage - Beastie Boys

1. 1. Riders on the Storm - The Doors
2. 2. The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
3. 3. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
4. 4. London Calling - The Clash
5. 5. Money - Pink Floyd
6. 6. Come Together - The Beatles
7. 7. Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
8. 8. My Generation - The Who
9. 9. Town Called Malice - The Jam
10. 10. Freewill - Rush

1. 1. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
2. 2. Under Pressure - David Bowie
3. 3. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
4. 4. Good Times - Chic
5. 5. Give it Away - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
6. 6. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
7. 7. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
8. 8. Treasure - Bruno Mars
9. 9. Sabotage - Beastie Boys
10. 10. Rio - Duran Duran

1. 1. White Lines (Don’t Do It) - Grandmaster & Melle Melle
2. 2. Deep Cover - Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg
3. 3. Complexion (A Zulu Love) - Kendrick Lamar
4. 4. Tints - Anderson Paak
5. 5. Hell of a Life - Kanye West
6. 6. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
7. 7. Halftime - Nas
8. 8. Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest
9. 9. Ain’t No Thang - Outkast
10. 10. Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.

1. 1. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
2. 2. Last Nite - The Strokes
3. 3. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
4. 4. Feel Good Inc. - Gorrillaz
5. 5. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys
6. 6. Come As You Are - Nirvana
7. 7. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses
8. 8. This Charming Man - The Smiths
9. 9. Blue Monday - New Order
10. 10. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division

Music isn’t just for the bees! We know how much a great soundtrack can add to a garden party or a summer barbecue, so we’ve put all the bee friendly songs into a handy Spotify playlist, just for you! You can find it and listen now, here: BEE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST  

We chatted with Paul Hetherington from Bug Life to gain a deeper understanding of the risks facing pollinators in the UK and some best practices to protect our environment.

“Habitat loss and climate change are having detrimental effects on pollinators’ populations across the globe. As temperatures rise and warmer, wetter winters become more common, bees are unable to hibernate and food sources are scarcer.

“We are fortunate that Britain is a nation of gardeners, and between us we have an incredible 16 million gardens covering two million acres. Some simple changes to our green spaces can create vital refuge for our invertebrate friends, including planting a variety of flowers that will flower all year round e.g. spring bulbs, lavender, winter honeysuckle and winter clematis. Additionally herbs are really accessible to pollinators and are easy to grow and maintain in both window boxes, patio pots and large gardens.

“Lockdown has had both a positive and negative effect on wildlife across the country. More people are investing in their garden spaces and are taking an interest in their surroundings. We have seen lots more sightings of rare species as people become more observant whilst out enjoying nature.

"As more people begin to invest in their garden spaces, it is important to consider existing natural habitats. There are roughly 275 species of bees in the UK, but the majority of people can only identify a handful of these. This has resulted in lots of misinterpretation with people perceiving them as pests and consequently using harmful pesticides."

“Additionally we strongly advise against the use of fake/ plastic grass. The rise in popularity of this garden trend is causing complete loss of habitats, stripping the land of its nutrients and creating wastelands for bug and insect species.

Feeling inspired to create a natural heaven in your garden this summer? Enjoy your outdoor moments with Everscape, a range of vitrified porcelain tiles, resistant to frost, mould and staining whilst also slip resistant all year round.

Our specialist range of outdoor tiles allow you to carve out a relaxing patch amongst your wildflower surroundings, so sit back and enjoy the fresh summer air with the slow familiar hum of bumble bees around you.