The Oxford Nature Conservation Forum is encouraging all gardeners to help out starving bumblebees by planting late-blooming flowers.

The wet weather has made foraging for nectar and pollen difficult for all bees.

Now is the time of year when queens begin producing male bees and new queens will search for mates to begin new colonies, an energy-intensive process.

For flower planting suggestions, go to the website beekind.bumblebee conservation.org