Bumblebees ‘threatened by farm changes’

THE loss of flower-rich meadows and nesting sites along hedgerows is posing a threat to the bumblebee, a conference in Dublin heard yesterday.

International research has shown that, globally, bumblebees have been hit hard by farming methods over the past 50 years.

And Ireland has not escaped from the effects of such activities, it was revealed at the conference, organised by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agri-Food and Environment faculty at University College Dublin.

Some of the findings of a €1.3 million EPA agri-environmental investigation into the impact of farming practice on flora and fauna generally has raised some concern.

Part of the EU-funded research examined how bumblebee populations are faring on Irish farms.

Veronica Santorum, of the University of Limerick, found what she described as “some worrying aspects.”

“There are few bumblebees flying on farms. On average, there are only three bees per 100 metres of hedgerow, and these would tend to be of only one or two widespread and common species - the stripy ones of children’s books and a foxy brown bee - whereas we actually have 18 bumblebee species altogether in Ireland,” she said.

Ms Santorum said a bee that would be regarded as very common had been completely missing from Irish farms for the two years that the survey was carried out. Older farmers and bee-keepers are familiar with this missing bee, which has a red tail.

“The project has provided us with a baseline for bumblebees on farms for the present day, against which the effects of agri-environmental schemes such as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) can be monitored into the future.

The Ag-biota project, which will conclude next year, is part of an overall €32m investment by the EPA in research on the environment and sustainable development.