One of the best way to help bees is to plant flowers in our gardens, says Great British Bee Count ambassador and the Guardian garden reporter, Alys Fowler. A new poll reveals that 57% of people would allow their garden to grow wilder – by letting weeds and wildflowers grow or allowing patches of grass to grow longer – if it could help bees and other wildlife.

Now in its fifth year, the count - which runs from Thursday 17 May until Saturday 30 June – is an opportunity for people to find out more about the many different bees that visit our gardens, parks and countryside, and what they can do to help them. This common carder bee was spotted in Southville, Bristol by Neil James Brain as part of the 2016 count.

Honeybee spotted in north London by James Clark.

Mining bee spotted in Worcester by Leanne Taylor-Smith.

Hairy-footed flower bee seen in Nottingham by Trish Carden.

Early mining bee in Warrington, spotted by Mark Redford.

Broad-margined mining bee spotted in east London by Rose Stephens.

Ashy mining bee spotted in Hampshire by Sophie Hutchinson.

Buff-tailed bumblebee in north London by Gareth Jones.

Red-tailed bumblebee and a buff-tailed bumblebee spotted in Didcot by Maria Davies.

Early bumblebee seen in Kent by Tony Putman.

Garden bumblebee sighted in Suffolk by Lyn White.

Bumblebee hoverfly in Buckland Abbey, Devon by Paul Osbourne.

The free app helps to identify bees for this year’s count. All of this year’s sightings will contribute to the government’s Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, which will provide the first comprehensive nationwide health check for Britain’s wild bees and other pollinators.