By: Emilie Higgins

In Ireland, one-third of wild bee species are threatened with extinction. While campaigns to protect pollinators are becoming more and more common, misinformation and misleading marketing is muddying the waters. Pollinator-friendly gardening is much more than just choosing the plant with the most flowers. 

 The State We’re In

Insects, including wild bees, are the most important pollinators in Ireland. Ireland’s insect pollinators include one honeybee species, 21 bumblebee species, 77 solitary bee species, and 98 wild bee species. 

Bees are responsible for the bulk of this pollination. A variety of both indirect (human population growth, urbanisation, agricultural intensification) and direct drivers (habitat loss, disease, and exposure to toxins) has led to the decrease of over half of Ireland’s bee species since the 1980s. Today, one third of our wild bee species are threatened with extinction.

This isn’t just a problem for bees, it’s a problem that has far reaching effects for us all.

Why Pollinators Matter (Hint: It’s not just because they’re cute)

Pollinators are essential to life as we know it. In Europe, 78% of plants are animal-pollinated and nearly all (84%) of Europe’s crops are animal-pollinated. In Ireland alone, this key ecosystem service is valued at over €50 million to the economy. In fact, up to €59 million per year is produced in animal-pollination dependent food crops. 

The benefits of pollinators reach far beyond economics, pollinators play critical roles in ecosystems-supporting food webs, promoting biodiversity, and helping up to 95% of flowering plants reproduce. However, these types of benefits are much harder to give a monetary value to.

The “Pollinator-Friendly” Deception

As public awareness has grown, many garden centres have been quick to hop on the bandwagon. Rows of brightly coloured, flowering plants proudly labelled “pollinator friendly” dominate store displays. But here’s the catch: just because a plant is labelled “pollinator-friendly”, it does not mean it is.

Many of these plants have been sprayed with harmful insecticides. One of the most concerning types are neonicotinoids, neurotoxins which disrupt insect nervous systems, and often lead to the death of beneficial pollinators such as bees. While many neonicotinoids are banned for the use on food crops in the EU, loopholes remain for garden plants. Regulations are much less strict for greenhouse-grown ornamental plants. In addition, many plants may have been treated with insecticides prior to being imported into Ireland, meaning harmful residues may still remain. Basically, if the label does not explicitly say it is ‘pesticide free’, assume it’s not.

Big, beautiful exotic flowers may look perfect for pollinators, but in reality, native plants usually outperform exotics when it comes to attracting and supporting pollinators. This is because native plants and local pollinators have coevolved over thousands of years to be specialised for each other. Worse still, some of these plants are invasive species which outcompete native flora, reducing the available native plants for pollinators.

So, what can you do?

Good news: you do not need a big budget or an expansive garden to help pollinators. It doesn’t matter if all you have is a window box, you can make a difference. 

Choose native plants which have not been treated with insecticides. Some common native wildflowers include daffodils, bluebells, and even foxgloves. 

Many of these native plants are FREE. Seeds and cuttings can be shared among neighbours or found growing in the wild. Other plants will appear in your garden all by themselves, including many so-called ‘weeds’ like dandelions, so do not be so quick to weed.

Pesticide-free plants genuinely good for pollinators will often already have hungry customers so look for signs of insect life. Read the fine print. Remember, if it does not say it is pesticide-free, assume it’s not. 

Biodiversity should be both the goal and the method. There are many different species of pollinators which vary in size, shape, foraging and habitat preferences. They also feed at different times of the day and the year. This means to achieve biodiversity in pollinators, we need to strive for biodiversity in vegetation.  

Planting for pollinators may seem daunting, especially with so much misinformation going around, but there are also plenty of reputable sources too. Once you know what to look for, it is much easier to make a big difference to save our pollinators. 

Statistics taken from the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s “All Ireland Pollinator Plan”, and the EU Pollinators Initiative.