Farmland is vital for Ireland’s declining pollinators

Traditionally farmland was very pollinator-friendly because it was naturally flower-rich

While the honeybee is not in trouble, one-third of the country’s 98 wild bee species are threatened with extinction. Picture: Zoe Devlin

According to the National Biodiversity Data Centre, farming takes place on about 70% of the land cover in Ireland and farmland has experienced widescale loss of pollinators over the last 50 years.

The most important pollinators are insects, particularly bees and flies. Ireland has just one Honeybee; 98 wild bee species — including 21 Bumblebees and 77 Solitary bees — and around 180 Hoverfly species.