Flowers for bees

As part of our community contribution to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, several gardens on the road now have early flowers where bees feed.

We have also secured two small strips of roadside verge as floral reserves. These two strips will remain uncut throughout the summer. Last year, several orchids were seen in each strip. In the past few weeks dandelions and primroses have flourished in one of the grassy strips.

We have seen three kinds of bumblebee so far this year: Bombus lucorum (with a white tail), Bombus pascuorum (with an orange head) and Bombus lapidarius (with a red tail). We also notice many hoverflies feeding on the roadside dandelions.