The bus stops that are turning into buzz stops

BEE-FRIENDLY plants are being introduced to the roofs of bus shelters to help attract the insects to towns and cities.

The plants on the ‘living roofs’ – wildflowers including daisies and wild strawberries – will boost bees and other insects at a time when insects have been in decline in the UK and across the world.

And the bee bus stops scheme also aims to bring people closer to nature – if you are looking down from the top deck of a doubledecker bus, you will see a prettier sight than the typical grey expanse of bus shelter roof. The initiative is a partnership between The Wildlife Trusts, a group of conservation charities, and Clear Channel, which operates bus-shelter advertising across the UK.

Clear Channel aims to have installed 150 of the bee bus stops by the end of this year. Forty have already been established from Glasgow to Brighton.

A study published this week by the charity Buglife found that flying insects in the UK have declined by 60 per cent since 2004.