Blog

Pollination is a vital service provided by a plethora of animals, including honeybees, bumble bees, and other insects, as well as some birds and mammals. Many of our food crops rely on animal pollinators to produce large yields. Therefore, the loss of pollinators such as bees will have profound implications for the global agri-food sector, with consumer nations such as Ireland particularly vulnerable.

The agri-food and drink sector in Ireland accounts for 7.2% of the goods and services produced by Ireland’s economy and 12.3% of Ireland’s exports (source: DAFM). The horticultural industry alone produces >€380 million worth of fruit and vegetables annually, including many common insect-pollinated crops such as apples, strawberries and raspberries. However, this only represents a small proportion of total demand and as a result we import >€1 billion worth of fruit and vegetables each year (source: CSO). Many of these are pollinator-dependent crops (e.g. oranges, peaches, pears etc.) and therefore the global loss of insect pollinators is predicted to have a profound impact on our local economy.

In addition to the market values of pollinators, we also appreciate them for their intrinsic value and for the ecosystem services they provide. They play a vital role in maintaining plant community structure and for the propagation of wild species, thus maintaining healthy biodiversity in our landscapes. For example, the celebrated landscapes of the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland, which attract visitors from all over the world for their beauty, depend on pollinators to support a rich variety of wild flowers.

This globalised, interconnected world in which we live means that a holistic approach must be taken in order to protect vulnerable pollinator species. By understanding how interconnected and dependent we are on pollinators, not just in an ecological sense but also from a global, economic perspective, we can better understand the impacts of pollinator losses and enact integrated policies to halt their decline. In this way, we will be able to continue to enjoy the fruits of their labours for generations to come!

Dr. James Murphy (@jmurphyscience) is working on a 2 year EPA-funded research project POLLIVAL (@pollivaltcd) with Prof Jane Stout in Trinity College Dublin. The aim of the project is to assess the market and non-market values of insect pollinators and to estimate the costs to the Irish economy of continuing pollinator declines.

The UK is home to approximately 275 species of bee and Ireland is home to 97, and no, they don’t all make honey. In fact, the honeybee is the only member of the group who performs this task, and, along with the bumblebees, is the only social species. All told social bees, with queens and workers, account for a mere 10% of the bee species in the UK and 20% of the species in Ireland. The vast majority of species are solitary. This means that every female is fertile and each builds her own nest in which she places her eggs and provisions each one with enough food for them to develop into adults.

The other really important thing to know about solitary bees (once you know they exist) is that they are excellent pollinators, far better than bumblebees and honeybees. This is because when they collect pollen they leave it dry and carry it on specialised hairs on their bodies. Honeybees and bumblebees moisten the pollen they collect and pack it together. This means that when solitary bees visits flowers they’re more likely to lose pollen than other species. Solitary bees are important and they are vastly under appreciated.

Fundamentally, there are two things every bee needs: food and shelter. When we think about the practical things one can do to help bees it is images of flower laden gardens and parks that come to mind and of course this is incredibly important. But how often do we hear about nest sites? Not very. This is not just a problem in the wider media, primary scientific literature has given little attention to nesting locations, particularly in the UK and Ireland and particularly with regard to the solitary species that nest in the ground (which is most of them). Now, one can’t for certain say why this is, but it is likely linked to the fact that finding nests is difficult and time consuming, particularly if you are trying to conduct a scientific analysis and therefore need quite a lot of them. So, a new approach is needed in terms of how we collect this information and we think the most promising route to success is through citizen science.

To this end we have recently launched The Solitary Bee Project (thesolitarybeeproject.org), which aims to gather nesting data of four solitary bee species: Andrena fulva, Andrena cineraria, Halictus rubicundus and Colletes Hederae. Armed with this information, we not only begin to understand the needs of these important species but also the ways in which we can protect suitable nesting areas and even provide them, if need be. So, keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for ‘mini volcanoes’ showing up in your garden or local park because it could be a solitary bee moving into the neighbourhood!

Stephanie Maher (@SolitaryBeesUK) graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2011 with a degree in Zoology. She is currently a PhD candidate at Anglia Ruskin University, UK. Find out more about taking part in her project at thesolitarybeeproject.org. Although the site is aimed at the UK, Stephanie is keen to get Irish records too!

It is estimated that honey bees (Apis spp.) fly nearly 90,000 km to make just one jar of honey, that’s more than twice the circumference of the Earth.

Honey has been consumed by humans for over ten thousand years: the Egyptians were the first to practice the art of beekeeping and it has been reported that the Romans used honey instead of gold to pay their taxes. This sweet substance not only contains a complex mixture of sugars but has many other natural constituents. It is a combination of these that make it a unique and nutritious food, for both bees and humans! The composition and concentration of these constituents varies and depends on honey floral and geographical origin, honey processing and storage, and seasonal and environmental factors. Honey can also contain many contaminants mainly due to anthropogenic activities.

The reported biological properties and health benefits of honey produced by honey bees are vast. Honey contains flavonoids and phenolic acids, and many studies have shown that a high concentration of total phenolics is strongly correlated with high antioxidant activity. Food antioxidants have been shown to prevent oxidative stress and thus prevent oxidative damage.

The aims of my PhD research are to determine the type and quantity of phenolic acids and flavonoids present in Irish honey. To date, the results show that Irish heather honey has the highest total phenolic content out of three Irish single origin honeys (heather, ivy and oilseed rape), whilst oilseed rape honey has the lowest. Interestingly, urban honeys have a higher total phenolic content than rural honeys. Irish heather honey shows similar physiochemical characteristics to Manuka honey from New Zealand, and has a higher total phenolic content than Manuka honey. This suggests that heather honey may be as medicinally effective as Manuka honey and that the potential health benefits of Irish heather honey should be explored.

With the exciting launch of Trinity’s Pollinator Plan and the establishment of a hive on campus, honeys will be compared from DCU, TCD and UCD. The results will be revealed in a future blog post.

Saorla Kavanagh is an IRC-funded PhD student, registered at DCU, supervised by Blánaid White (DCU) and Jane Stout (TCD).

If you’ve been following the blog recently, you probably know that Ireland’s pollinators are in decline. Of the 98 bee species on the island of Ireland, nearly one-third are threatened with extinction. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 is a strategy that addresses this problem. It is a shared plan of action, supported by 68 governmental and non-governmental organisations. We are working with all sectors, from local communities to Councils, farmers, businesses schools and more, to take actions that will make Ireland more pollinator-friendly.

Third level institutions have a big role to play in implementing the Pollinator Plan. Below are five actions campuses could take to help. These suggestions come from the Pollinator Plan’s Local Community Guidelines. This guide actually suggests 24 pollinator-friendly actions, so every campus across the island is sure to find suggestions that suit their space. Download it and encourage your college to get involved.

• Protect existing sources of food and shelter for pollinators: Does your campus have areas with bramble or ivy? What about existing pollinator-friendly flowering trees? The best and easiest thing you can do is to protect what resources you already have. At TCD: A map of existing pollinator resources on Trinity’s campus was produced as part of the Campus Pollinator Plan. This resource will help ensure existing pollinator habitats are protected.
• Reduce mowing and aim to create a wildflower meadow: When grassy areas are cut less often, wildflowers have a chance to bloom and provide food for bees. Areas of longer grass are also ideal nesting habitats. The idea with this action is to cut some grassy areas just once in autumn, to allow the grass to grow long. The grass cutting should be removed after each cut to reduce soil fertility over time. At TCD: The grass on the Ecology Bank is allowed to grow to provide more flowers for bees.

 

• Perennial flowers for pollinators: When choosing ornamental species, remember that traditional bedding plants like Geraniums, Begonias, Petunias and Busy Lizzy have virtually no pollen and nectar, so are of little value to pollinators. Incorporating pollinator-friendly perennials that will flower all season long, from March through to October, is an excellent way to increase the food on campus for pollinators. At TCD: The new garden outside Botany has several pollinator-friendly plants, and the Campus Pollinator Plan aims to increase spring flowering species to further enhance the space for pollinators.

• Put up signage: This action both raises awareness of pollinators with the public and helps inform why some areas are being managed differently. At TCD: Signage has been added on the Ecology Bank and at newly installed solitary bee nest boxes.

 

• Log the actions taken on your campus on our mapping system, Actions for Pollinators: This new, publically available website tracks the build-up of food, shelter, and safety for pollinators in the landscape. It is hoped that all campuses that take actions for pollinators will log what they are doing so we can document all the efforts to conserve our pollinating insects.

 

If your third level institution wants to sign up to support the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, get in touch! We’re always happy to welcome new partners. If every campus on the island of Ireland took just a few simple pollinator-friendly measures, it would go a long way towards creating a landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive.

Dr Erin Jo Tiedeken (@EJTiedeken) joined the National Biodiversity Data Centre (@BioDataCentre) in April 2016 as the Project Officer for the All Ireland Pollinator Plan. She previously completed her PhD on Irish pollinators with Dr Jane Stout (@JaneCStout) at Trinity College Dublin.