Large gardens ‘key for preserving bees’

POSH GARDENS could play a key role in preserving pollinating insects, research has shown.

Private green spaces and allotments attract large numbers of bees and other pollinators, a study found, while “significantly higher pollinator abundance” was seen in areas with high household incomes.

Gardens in richer areas typically had a wider range of flowers, said the researchers.

They wrote in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution: “This is consistent with the so-called ‘luxury effect’ whereby socioeconomic status is often positively correlated with urban biodiversity.

“In our case, the effect is driven by the greater quality of floral resources for pollinators in wealthier neighbourhoods.”

The authors recommended increasing the number of flowers in parks and other public green spaces, and providing more allotments in towns and cities.

The scientists surveyed the distribution of plants and pollinating insects in Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading.

They found that residential and community gardens – or allotments – supported a greater abundance of pollinators than other types of urban land, such as parks and road verges.

Jane Memmott, inset, of University of Bristol, who heads the Urban Pollinators Project, said we can make cities better places for pollinators.