Wexford urged to give bees a chance this spring

AS January comes to an end and we get ready to embrace spring, Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Michael Sheehan has leant his voice to the ‘Wex Bee Aware’ campaign to encourage the general public to help pollinators out.

While there’s no love lost for the black and amber on the hurling field, people are encouraged to give the bees a fighting chance this spring, particularly by holding off on that first cut of their lawn a little longer.

Vital pollinators, the number of bees in Ireland is declining with every passing year. Ireland has one species of honeybee, 20 species of bumblebee and 77 species of solitary bees. The solitary bees hibernate over the winter and it’s important that they have access to a rich supply of food as they emerge in Spring.

The life cycle of the solitary bee is different to that of a honey bee or bumblebee. They lay their eggs in the late summer in nests, and these eggs hatch and turn into larvae in the Autumn. The larvae turn into cocoons and hibernate over winter. The young bees emerge in the early spring ready to work hard for us over the summer by pollinating our crops and produce. The advice is to wait until mid-April before you do the first grass cut of the year allowing your lawns and grassed areas to provide vital food for bees, particularly solitary bees as they emerge hungry from hibernation. Dandelions are one of the bee’s favourite foods in early spring.

Another important change you can make is to reduce your mowing from every few weeks to every six weeks. This allows vital food, such as clover to fully flower, and the bees absolutely love it. To encourage clover growth, remove the grass cuttings from the lawn area rather than leaving them down to mulch. Your lawns will soon become alive with bees. You can rotate the areas you mow to ensure flower cover in your gardens at all times. For more information visit www.pollinators.ie or contact wexbeeaware@wexfordcoco.ie.