Sadly, many Irish bee species are in decline. In the regional Red List of Irish bees, three species are listed as regionally extinct, six species are considered critically endangered, ten are listed as endangered and a further fourteen are considered vulnerable. Such declines are not unique to bees and have been observed in many other animal and plant groups.
While our contribution may be small, some tips below with helping support bees:
1. Allow garden grass to grow longer to facilitate dandelions for bees. This is now council policy within the estate and you may notice the blades for cutting the grass on our greens has been lifted.
2. Pesticides should not be used as bees bring residues back to the hive nursery with nectar resulting in death of the next generation of bees and total colony collapse.
3. Plant bee and insect friendly plants eg Lavender and Verbena.
4. Consider planting a mini wildflower meadow in your own garden.
Further information on how to help can be found here: http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/irish-pollinator-initiative/get-involved/
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