Irish Bumble and Solitary bees.
Dr.Una Fitzpatrick spoke to Cookstown Wildlife Trust on Tuesday 10th November and attracted the
club’s largest turn-out in recent years, including the President of the Ulster Bee-keepers Society, staff
from QUB,CAFRE and members of the local agricultural community
Una worked on conservation genetics of Irish bees, before moving to the National Biodiversity Data
Centre in 2007. An ecologist within the Data Centre she manages several species databases and the
Irish Pollinator Initiative. She has set up various citizen science initiatives on the conservation of Irish
plants and pollinators and is always looking for more recruits!
Dr.Fitzpatrick, using a power-point presentation eloquently described the lifecycle of the bee and
indicated that these pollinators are in trouble due to hedge removal, climate change, disease and use
of pesticides. To protect our environment we must protect our pollinators. Since 1980 bee numbers
have declined by 50% and two species have become extinct!
90% of earth’s food comes from 100 crops and 71 of these are pollinated by bees
The value of pollination by insects is staggering, and indeed pollination provided by insects (mainly
bees) has been valued at €153 billion a year. Over 70 of 100 crops, providing 90% of worldwide food,
are pollinated by bees so we shouldn’t take our pollinators for granted!
In Ireland crops such as apples, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, carrots and onions are totally
reliant on bees and hoverflies for pollination. Each bee must visit around 6000 flowers a day to obtain
sufficient nectar.
Without pollinators, many of our native plant species would quickly go extinct.
Unfortunately, more than half of Ireland’s bee species have undergone substantial declines in
numbers since 1980. A conservation assessment of bees in Ireland produced in 2006 found that six
species are critically endangered, seven are endangered, 16 are vulnerable and 13 are near
threatened. Sadly, two bee species have become extinct in Ireland within the last 80 years. Hoverflies
are facing similar threats.
Bees and hoverflies (also pollinators) are fascinating insects. It might surprise you to know that only
female bees can sting, or that most bees don’t produce honey. In Ireland, only the honeybee makes
honey. There are another 20 species of bumblebee and 80 species of solitary bees, giving a total of
101 Irish species. There are also 180 species of hoverfly in Ireland.
The several different families of bees were described, including solitary, mining, cuckoo, mason and
leaf-cutter bees. C.W.T. was provided with information on using bamboo to construct nesting sites for
solitary bees, creating flower rich habitats along road-sides, increasing area of bee friendly public land
Una made C.W.T. aware of the ‘All Ireland Pollination Plan 2015’, a body designed to make Ireland
pollinator friendly and now supported by 67 organisations. Suggestions included creation of flower
rich habitats along road-sides , increasing public/state land managed in a pollinator friendly way and
increasing public awareness.
Dr Fitzpatrick’s exceptional presentation raised many issues including verge cutting, imported bees
from Europe as pollinators(with disease risks), supporting solitary bees and use of non-native ‘wild
flower ‘seed mixes.
The talk made us reflect on what we are doing to our environment and what we might do to improve
things.
Dr Una Fitzpatrick’s bees presentation was exceptional. Lots of detail, interesting facts and
observations that made people thing about what we are doing to our environment and what might be
done to improve things. It was good to focus on what we as individuals can do to help and Una
provided a wealth of options e.g. use of bamboo canes as nesting sites for solitary bees, keeping unfertilised grassy areas for nests and wild flowers. These have made us think also about what we and
others could do to help schools etc. implement the pollinator plan.
The presentation raised many issues including verge cutting, using imported bees as pollinators, how
to support solitary bees, and the use of non-native ‘wild flower seeds’. Solitary bees are hundreds of
time more efficient than honey bees as pollinators yet we importing large numbers of bees from
Europe to assist pollination with attendant disease risks. It also seems that EU/UK government
schemes designed to encourage wild life may not have considered pollinators.
Una’s bee talk attracted the largest turnout of any speaker to the Trust in recent years including the
President of the Ulster Bee Keepers, staff from AFBI/QUB, CAFRE, farmers and Trust members .