ALL-IRELAND POLLINATOR PLAN 2015-2020

CONSULTATION

Úna FitzPatrickNational Biodiversity Data Centre

POLLINATORS IN IRELAND

Ireland has 97 native bee species:

1 20 76

Ireland has 180 hoverfly species:

Dara Stanley

BUMBLEBEES: 20 different species

Gypsy Ray John Breen

John Breen

Ralph Sheppard

Dara Stanley Ralph Sheppard

Queen emerges from

hibernation in early spring

Forage and

find a nest

Prepares a pollen loaf and a nectar

pot and starts laying eggs fertilised

with sperm stored from previous year

Queen remains in

the nest laying eggs

Female workers emerge

and take over nest duties

New queens and males

leave the nest to find mates

In mid-late summer the

queen lays unfertilised eggs

which will become males.

She also allows some new

queens to develop

Mated new queen forages to build

up reserves before hibernation.

Workers, males and old queen die

LIFE CYCLE: BUMBLEBEES

Food source

Nest site

Food source

Food source

Hibernation site

WHAT DO BUMBLEBEES NEED?

Hibernation site

Underground, generally in north facing banks or slopes. Base of a wall, compost bin, loose soil in flower pots

Frequent nesting sites include holes in the ground, tussocky grass, hedgerows, under garden sheds.

Nest site

BBCT

POLLINATORS NEED FOOD SOURCES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

In the early days of the nest it is estimated that a Bombus terrestris queen may have to visit as many as 6000 flowers/day to get enough nectar to maintain the heat needed to brood her eggs

EARLY SPRING: queens are establishing nests

SPRING – SUMMER: nests are growing, workers are active

AUTUMN: queens are fattening up ready for hibernation

Bombus terrestris queens need to weigh at least 0.6 g to successfully hibernate and emerge next spring.

Nest sites

Do you need pollinators here?

Fruits and vegetables in gardens

The number of wild flowering plants in this area = 371.

Probably around 75% of these require pollination by animals

Bumblebees can travel up to 5km but commonly forage within 1-2km of their nest

Tom Cuffe

SOLITARY BEES: 76 different species

Mining bees Cuckoo bees Sweat bees

Mason bees Leaf cutter bees Sharp-tailed bees White-faced bees

Mate

Female prepares

a nest

Female lays eggs and leaves

a food supply of pollenThe larvae overwinter

Males and females die

Females and males

emerge in spring

LIFE CYCLE: SOLITARY BEES

Nest site

Food source

John O’BoyleHarm Deenan

WHAT DO SOLITARY BEES NEED?

Nest sites – mining bees

John O’Boyle

Nest sites – cavity nesting bees

Michael O’Donnell John O’Boyle

15

23

16

12

7

30

5

10

15

20

25

March April May June July August

No

of

sp

ec

ies

Month

Number of solitary species to emerge each month

Andrena clarkella - willow

Andrena denticulata –yellow asteraceae

Andrena fuscipes – Heather

WHAT DO SOLITARY BEES NEED?

Food for when they emerge from hibernation

Fussy eaters:

Solitary bees can travel up to 1km but commonly forage within 100-200m of their nest

Studies have shown that an increase in 150m between the nesting site and food plants can reduce the number of viable offspring by more than 70%

Leafcutter & mason solitary bees are among the world's most efficient pollinators

This is partly because are extremely inefficient at gathering pollen compared to all other bee families, requiring on average nearly ten times as many trips!

ARE SOLITARY BEES IMPORTANT POLLINATORS?

Research has shown that one female Red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) does the pollination work of between 120 and 160 honeybees

ARE HOVERFLIES IMPORTANT POLLINATORS?

Hoverflies pollination efficiency is about one fifth that of

wild bees and they forage on a much smaller range of

flowers

To ensure pollination of Irish crops and wild plants we should initially focus on:

Healthy honeybee colonies in combination with high abundance and species richness in wild bee populations, as

well as other wild pollinators such as hoverflies

WHY DOES POLLINATION MATTER?

WEALTH

HEALTH

WILDLIFE

Out of 100 crop species which provide 90% of food worldwide, 71 of these are

bee-pollinated

US research: approximately one out of every three mouthfuls of food we eat and beverages we drink are the result of pollination by bees

Pollinators contribute €53 million annually to the Irish economy

Without pollinators it would be extremely difficult to have a healthy balanced diet

Less colour in the countryside and knock-on impacts on our biodiversity

ARE POLLINATORS DECLINING IN IRELAND?

More than half of Ireland’s bee species have undergone substantial declines in their numbers since 1980.

Two species have become extinct

6 species are critically endangered, 10 endangered14 vulnerable

IS POLLINATION SERVICE DECLINING IN IRELAND?

2011: the abundance of four species of bumblebee in the US had dropped by a startling 96% in just the past few decades

For common species we don’t know if the

abundance is changing?

All-Ireland bumblebee monitoring scheme was

established in 2011 to provide

this data

WHY ARE POLLINATORS DECLINING?

HABITAT LOSS

DECLINE IN WILDFLOWERS

PESTS AND DISEASE

AGROCHEMICALS

CLIMATE CHANGE

HOMELESSNESS

HUNGER

SICKNESS

POISONING

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

The loss of floral resources in the agricultural landscape is probably the key driver of

pollinator declines

WHAT CAN WE DO?

HABITAT LOSS: HOMELESSNESS

GENERAL DECLINE IN WILDFLOWERS: HUNGER

PESTS AND DISEASE: SICKNESS

AGROCHEMICALS: POISONING

CLIMATE CHANGE: CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

1. Accept that pollination is important

2. Recognise there is a problem

3. Start to build a framework for positive action

John Fogarty

All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020

Creating an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive

STEERING GROUPDr Úna FitzPatrick (chair): National Biodiversity Data CentreDr Jane Stout: Trinity College DublinDr Tomás Murray: National Biodiversity Data CentreDr Archie Murchie: Agri-Food and Biosciences NIMr Jerome Walsh: Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineDr Veronica Santorum: Community Initiatives: Limerick’s BuzzingDr Brian Nelson: National Parks and Wildlife ServiceMr Ken Bradley: DOE Environmental Policy DivisionMs Melina Quinn: Northern Ireland Environment AgencyMs Catherine Bertrand: NGO’s: Butterfly Conservation NIDr Damian McFerran: Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR)Dr John McMullan: Honeybee expertDr Gerry Clabby: Local Authorities: Fingal County CouncilDr Vincent O’Malley: National Roads AuthorityMs Catherine Keena: Teagasc

Driving pollinator conservation through better data since 2008

Researching the drivers and consequences of pollinator decline in Ireland since 2004

Providing food and shelter across all types of land so that our pollinators can

survive and thrive

MAKING IRELAND POLLINATOR FRIENDLY

Provide food and shelter across all types of land so that our pollinators can survive and thrive

Farmland: 4 targets & 11 actionsPublic land: 3 targets & 11 actionsPrivate land: 2 targets & 3 actions

All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020

Creating an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive

Making sure we’re doing the

right thing

3 targets & 9 actions

Collecting evidence to track

change and measure success

3 targets & 4 actions

Managed pollinators –

supporting beekeepers

3 targets & 5 actions

Raising awareness of

pollinators and how to

protect them

3 targets & 8 actions

The draft Plan identifies a total of 21 targets and 51 actions

In all cases there is scope for new initiatives and new ideas

Joined up network of diverse and flower-rich

habitats to support pollinators across Ireland

MAKING IRELAND POLLINATOR FRIENDLY

Provide food and shelter across all types of land so that our pollinators can survive and thrive

Making Ireland pollinator friendly

• Increase the area of farmland that is farmed in a pollinator friendly way• Create a network of magnificent meadows to serve as pollinator havens• Promote the sustainable use of agricultural pesticides• Provide clearer information on pollinators to the farming community

• Increase the area of public land that is managed in a pollinator friendly way• Create linking areas of flower rich habitat along transport routes• Reduce the use of pesticides on public land

• Increase the number of gardens across Ireland that are pollinator friendly• Encourage businesses to become pollinator friendly

FARMLAND

PUBLIC LAND

PRIVATE LAND

WHAT KIND OF THINGS CAN YOU DO ON A FARM?

Plant nectar and pollen rich trees and shrubs

Encourage flowering plants on the farm

Hedgerows, cut less often to allow flowering –Hazel, Blackthorn, Hawthorn

Manage field margins and buffer strips through grazing and cutting to prevent grasses dominating and encourage wildflowers to grow

Use pesticides responsibly & minimiseuse outside cropping systems

Leave long grass in uncultivated field corners

Reduce the use of spring herbicide to encourage non-competitive weeds in the crop

Incorporate clover into grass dominated swards

1. Encourage farmers to take very low cost voluntary actions

2. Identify the difficulties to taking actions

3. Where actions have a cost investigate agri-environment incentives

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN A SMALL GARDEN?

Flowering tree

Shrub that flowers in autumn-winter

Pots with herbs

Lawn with some weeds

Fruit trees

Area with long grass

Un-mowed strip

Shrub that flowers in spring - Broom

Shrub that flowers in autumn - Ivy

Bee friendly garden plants –Lavender, Comfrey

More herbs that flower throughout the year

Solitary bee nest box

Create a system to track progress in the creation of pollinator habitat

Small garden:

School:

Farm:

TARGETS FOR CONSULTATION PHASE

• BEE KEEPERS

• FARMING ASSOCIATIONS

• BORD BIA

• FORESTRY

• PEATLANDS

• BUSINESSES

• OTHER TRANSPORT NETWORKS

• NGOS

• LAND MANAGEMENT GROUPS

52 GROUPS HAVE

BEEN SPECIFICALLY INVITED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE

PLAN

The draft Plan identifies a total of 21 targets and 51 actions

1. General2. Farmland3. Public land4. Private land5. Raising awareness6. Supporting bee keepers7. Research8. Data and tracking progress

9. Things for general discussion

FEEDBACK BOARDS

Areas for general discussion

- Farmland – how best to engage with farmers?- Will the availability of native wild flower seed be a limiting factor?- Should we have a dedicated action on sourcing funding?- Promotion & communication of the Plan- Greenways

If you have skills or expertise and are willing to provide voluntary advice or assistance please get in touch?

PR Contacts within key groupsDesign Writing and reviewing (actions 32, 33)Project management Sourcing fundingDevelopment of info-graphics Social media campaigns

ufitzpatrick@biodiversityireland.ie

CONSULTATION – UNTIL 1st MARCH http://pollinators.biodiversityireland.ie

Please input your ideas and suggestions so that the plan can be as constructive and positive a document for Irish pollinators as possible

TIME FRAMES

1. Public consultation ends on 1st March2. Wider stakeholder consultation ends in mid-March3. Plan will be reviewed by steering group4. Final draft will be produced5. Plan will be designed and info-graphics developed6. Publication in summer 2015

CALL TO ACTION

Zoe Devlin

Tom Cuffe

Thank You