WILDLIFE volunteers across Ireland have been busy bees making 2016 the best year ever for the numbers of pollinator insects recorded online. Dr Úna FitzPatrick of the National Biodiversity Data Centre said researchers received 2,400 new bee recordings and 600 new hoverfly sightings from a crowd-sourcing initiative aimed at halting the country's declining bee populations. "This is the most online records we have ever received from volunteers in a single year," Dr FitzPatrick said.
"We received records for a total of 51 of the 98 different bee species. They were submitted by 240 different people across 32 counties. It is fantastic to see Osmia bicornis expanding as it is an excellent pollinator. It is also extremely encouraging to see the numbers of Bombus muscorum records coming in. This species is listed as vulnerable on the European red list, making our healthy populations all the more important."
The researcher said the figures would help improve our knowledge of Ireland’s pollinators.
"With the all-Ireland pollinator plan actively up and running, it is more important than ever that we try to track what is happening with bees and hoverflies around the country," she said.
Coming up in 2017, it will be possible to view Irish bee populations and if you'd like to contribute to the study, you will be able to log your own patch on to the study.
"This will be a publicly available online mapping system where you can log your site, whether local area, garden, farm, school, business, council land, road network or other," said Dr FitzPatrick.
You can record bees for the study easily on walks or around your home, work or school. There's no running around the countryside – simply what sightings you spot on the same route you regularly use.
See more at www.biodiversityireland.ie/pollinator-plan or contact Dr Úna FitzPatrick at the National Biodiversity Data Centre 00353 (0)51 306 240
