GARDENS:Bees are among the greatest allies we have, so we need to learn to help them survive
ONE OF THE more exciting things to happen in this garden in recent times was exactly a year ago. The air filled suddenly with thousands of black particles, while, at the same time, it began to hum loudly, as if we were being invaded by a squadron of small and annoying aircraft. Within seconds, my neighbours arrived on their back doorstep, to see what new awfulness I had introduced into the community (they are admirably patient about my efforts at pursuing a country life in an urban area). For once, however, the event was not of my making. The frenzied cloud of dark speckles was, in fact, a swarm of honeybees. After boiling around at the end of the garden, it flowed onto the branch of a tree, and settled uneasily into a seething rugby-ball shape. It was thrilling to see this travelling queen with her entourage of workers having a rest before seeking out a new home. But fascinating as this spectacle was, we were now sharing the garden with about 20,000 bees, simmering away just inches from a well-trodden path. I did what I do in all garden crises requiring a hero. I phoned our friend, Paul. He arrived in half an hour, and was all business: putting on a space suit, pumping up his bee-smoker, misting the bee-ball with water, snipping the small branch off the tree to which it was attached, and popping the whole thing into a fine-mesh basket. Within seconds the migrant queendom was safely wrapped up, and on its way to an empty hive a few kilometres down the road.
I’m lucky to know a bee man, but so were the bees: they got a fine new home with him, and didn’t go off somewhere they might have been deemed a nuisance and exterminated.
Actually, bees are among the greatest allies that our species has. Without bees, one third of our food crops would be in trouble. While they are out foraging for food, bees unwittingly transfer pollen (the male gametes) to the stigmas (the female receptors) on flowers, thus enabling sexual reproduction, and the formation of fruits and seeds. If bees were not doing this work there would be patchy – or no – yields of numerous fruits and nuts, including apples, pears, raspberries, currants, cherries, courgettes and pumpkins. If there were no bees, then non-fruit crops such as onions, carrots, parsnips, celery and brassicas would also be in jeopardy, because the plants would not set the seed required to start off the next generation.
This insect is a vital link in our food chain – a pressing reason for putting out the welcome mat. This is all the more important now that bees are in crisis. The mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD) afflicting American honeybee populations is not a feature here (yet), but varroa mite continues to cause losses, as have two consecutive wet summers. Bees are unable to fly with wet wings, and the rain also washes pollen away.
In Ireland, we have one native honeybee, and a hundred other bee species, including 19 bumblebees. More than half of our bee species are in decline, mainly through habitat loss and fragmentation: development and agriculture have wreaked havoc on the places where they forage and live. Pesticides, especially the systemic neonicotinoids, can cause disorientation in bees, and are believed by some beekeepers to be a major contributor to CCD.
Our parks and gardens can provide sanctuary for this island’s bees. Besides growing nectar plants (see below), there are a few other things we can do to make a congenial place for our apian friends. Obviously, one of the most important is to cut back on spraying pesticides. Even those described as “safe”, “natural” or “organic” can harm bees in various ways. If you must spray, do it in the evening, when nectar-gathering insects have gone to bed.
Bumblebees and solitary bees don’t live in hives. The former may occupy disused bird nests, or mouse holes, or they may take up residence in other niches, such as in the corner of the compost heap. They are very unlikely to sting, so a nest presents no danger. Solitary bees (which include the leaf-cutter bee so disliked by rose growers) are also reluctant to attack. They may live in holes in the ground, in soft masonry, in bits of dead wood (old fence posts, for instance), and in hollow or pithy plant stems. The oval chunks that the leaf-cutters neatly scissor from rose foliage are used to build finely modelled nursery chambers. The bee lays a single egg in each one – after stocking it with nectar and pollen for the future larva – and neatly closes it with a leafy lid.
We can encourage these bees and other beneficial insects by being a little less tidy about the place, and by leaving log piles and bundles of sticks in quiet areas. You can even make an apartment block for solitary bees by drilling holes between six and 10mm wide (15cm deep) into a block of untreated wood, or by tying together short lengths of bamboo or other hollow stems. Position about 1.5 metres above the ground, facing south, so that the openings are horizontal.
As well as somewhere to live and food to eat, bees need water to drink and to cool their hives. A pond or a bird bath should have sloped or stepped sides so that they can safely reach the water.
For the bees
There are hundreds of plants that attract bees. Look for those with simple flowers, rather than highly bred varieties with loads of extraneous petals. Spring and autumn can be difficult seasons, as there is usually less in flower. Supply early bloomers such as bluebell, euphorbia, aubreita, crocus, berberis, willow and dandelion. For autumn, consider late perennials such as aster, eupatorium and sedum, as well as heather, mahonia and ivy. Almost all members of the rose family are popular with bees: cherry, apple, pear, cotoneaster, pyracantha. The mint family (Lamiaceae), which includes most herbs as well as mint, are excellent bee plants. So also are the borage family (echium, forget-me-not, pulmonaria, comfrey) as are most of the daisy clan, and the umbellifers (fennel, dill, carrot). Also for the bees are cottagey plants such as allium, cosmos, cornflower, foxglove, verbascum, verbena, monkshood and delphinium. jpowers@irishtimes.com
Go for Garden Glory
Corrin Hill ice cream is seeking the most biodiverse school, community and public gardens in Ireland for its annual Biodiversity Gardens Award, in association with BirdWatch Ireland. Closing date is June 30th. www.corrinhill.ie