Agri-environment schemes aim to benefit bees

Biodiversity is the entire variety of life on earth. The United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity to celebrate life on earth and highlight the value that biodiversity plays in our lives. That value may be a contribution to nature and wildlife but it may also be a real economic value.  The bee population contributes to both.

Bees play an important role in pollination. Crops in NI that depend on pollination by bees and other insects include apples, strawberries and oil-seed rape. The value of honeybee crop pollination in NI is estimated as over £5 million each year. In addition to farmed crops, pollination is necessary to provide fruit and nuts for insects, birds and mammals to feed on in the wild.

The decline of many of the 101 bee species found in Ireland has been highlighted in recent years. This decline is partly because of loss of habitat as well as parasites such as the Varroa mite and viral diseases. Colony collapse disorder is a term given to the sudden disappearance of worker bees from a colony, the cause of which is not fully understood.  Up to 30 percent of honey bee hive populations have died in recent winters.

DARD’s agri-environment schemes allow farmers to play a vital role in enhancing biodiversity and managing wildlife habitats that support insect life.  Many scheme participants are already managing habitats which benefit bees and other insects. For example, pollen and nectar mixture contains a mix of legumes flowering at different times to provide a habitat with a continuous supply of pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects.  Other options that provide suitable habitat for birds, mammals, and insects include rough grass margins, restoration of traditional orchards, wild bird cover and annual heather regeneration.

With 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity why not consider adding some of these options to your agri-environment agreement and enhance the habitats available to bees and other insects on your farm.  For more information contact your Countryside Management Delivery Adviser at your local DARD office.  

For more information on honey bees search www.dardni.gov.uk for ‘Sustainability of the Honey Bee’.

the moss carder bee, Bombus muscorum, is a priority species in Northern Ireland.  Photo courtesy of Robin Williams