More Bee research

Nest boxes in Wytham Woods

The Wytham Tit Study began in 1947, just five years after the Woods were bequeathed to the University of Oxford by the ffennel family, and is now one of the longest running ecological studies in the world.

Inspired by the Wytham Tit Study, in 2017 Dr Tonya Lander, Nigel Fisher, Conservator of Wytham Woods, and the Wytham Volunteers, set up a new long-term study of solitary bees. There are now 75 bee nest-boxes installed at 38 sites across the Woods. We are collecting baseline data on microclimate, pollen forage species, and solitary bee, parasitoid, and predator diversity and density in habitats across the Woods and over time. In the coming years we aim to incorporate experimental trials and expand the network of nest-boxes.
 

_{Bee box photos by Chloe Bradford.}