Bee Trees | Beespoke Info

Irish Hedgerow Destruction

Gimlet — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 14:48:01 +0000

Everytime you see a severed stump, or more commonly a row of severed stumps like this – imagine the lovely flowering trees that once stood there and ask yourself who could do such a thing and more importantly why.

Badly cut hedge

Hedges like these are not the exception in this country – they are the rule and when you consider the number of trees subjected to this abuse it’s no wonder we’ve got a biodiversity meltdown!

And why on earth was this tree cut? It’s the only one left!

The last tree in the hedge

Look at this brutal mess.

Massacred Hedge

If mature trees are decapitatated then cut to the knuckle year after year they cannot flower and they cannot fruit. No flowers and no fruit means no pollinators and no birds. It’s very simple isn’t it?

Furthermore – this annual savagery slowly kills the hedge as the height is reduced year after year and those poor shredded stumps cannot heal properly so fungal diseases get in leading to rot and death. Eventually you are left with a gappy hedge consisting of elder and grass. Lovely.

Hedges need to be at least 2 metres tall or birds can’t nest in them. If they are too low to the ground, predators can reach into the nests and take the young. They also need cover above the nest or crows will walk along that lovely flat top and take the eggs or the young birds.

If a hedge is encroaching onto a road then lightly trim the sides there’s no need to cut the bloody top off.

Let’s not forget that hedges are carbon sinks but only if you let them grow. The taller they get the more water they will use so there will be less waterlogging and less soil washed into the rivers. The list of benefits is very long and I’ve hardly started.

A couple of links here for further reading:

Bee Trees – Hawthorn

https://www.thejournal.ie/shear-force-article-2-5358956-Feb2021/

https://www.noteworthy.ie/nw-shear-force-pt1-5359014-Feb2021

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Noxious Weeds!

Gimlet — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:16:27 +0000

You know how we all go on about how there’s a law out there that says farmers should remove ragwort from their land or face the consequences?

Well beekeepers, read this and weep – the full list of ‘Invasive Species and Noxious Weeds’ as specified by the Department of Agriculture is as follows:

"...Invasive Species & Noxious Weeds

Ragwort, Thistle, Dock, Common Barberry, Male Wild Hop and Wild Oat are noxious weeds under the Noxious Weeds Act 1936

Invasive species include Rhododendron, Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam as well as the invading hardwood species e.g. Hawthorn, briars, furze/gorse, Elder and Willow...."

This is taken not directly from the 1936 Act, but from the Cross Compliance Handbook for farmers from the Department of Agriculture. Click here to download that disturbing document

I don’t know about you but it leaves me wondering whether to make a big noise about it or just keep quiet because rather a lot of those species – especially the natives – are vital to our bees and all those wild pollinators out there – for the moment anyway.

And here’s a thought – landowners are not allowed to remove a hedgerow unless they plant a replacement hedge first. Hmmm.

They are also not allowed to remove a line of trees across a field. Being as hawthorn and willow are categorised here not as trees but ‘invading hardwood species’ in the Cross Compliance Handbook – does that mean landowners can remove a row of hawthorns?

Where does that leave us?

Here are some links for you. The first two are particularly important if you want to understand the current wave of hedgerow mutilation and scrub destruction.

Click here to download the Cross Compliance Handbook for farmers from the Department of Agriculture.

Click here to download the Land Eligibility Booklet from the Department of Agriculture

Click here for the stupid Heritage Bill

Click here for February Bee Flowers

Click here for March Bee Flowers

Click here for April Bee Flowers

Click here for May Bee Flowers

Click here for June Bee Flowers

Click here for July Bee Flowers

Click here for August Bee Flowers

Click here for September Bee Flowers

Click here for October Bee Flowers

Click here for November Bee Flowers

Click here for more about Gorse

Click here for a general seasonal guide to important bee flowers

Click here for photos of pollen load colours

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Irish Beekeepers Protest

Gimlet — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 18:01:57 +0000

Beekeepers of Ireland rise up and protest against the Heritage Bill before all this goes up in flames!

Gorse in full bloom

Meet outside Dáil Éireann with Gerry Ryan et al at 12.30 on 2nd March 2017 and let our Senators know we are against this stupid Bill!

Click here for more about the Heritage Bill

Click here for the full text of the Seanad debate on this Bill in November2016 and which will be continued this Thursday

The post Irish Beekeepers Protest first appeared on Beespoke Info.

Heritage Bill?

Gimlet — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 10:15:13 +0000

The Heritage Bill, due before the Seanad this week (21st February 2017 ) seems to have nothing at all to do with Heritage other than to extend the period landowners or County Councils can burn, cut, grub or otherwise erase the natural bit from the landscape. That natural bit is the bit our bees rely on.

This the part of the bill that will most affect us:

“…permit to the burning of vegetation in March, during such period or periods and in such areas of the State as the Minister may specify. Section 8 also provides for the amendment of section 40 to allow landowners or their agents to cut, grub or destroy vegetation in any hedge or ditch during August, subject to such Regulations as the Minister may make….”

I don’t need to tell you that the gorse (aka furze) is in bloom in March and our bees are all over it gathering vital early spring forage. If it is grubbed out and burnt at all, but especially in March, our bees, wild bees and other insects will all be deprived of a valuable early spring pollen source.

Gorse in full bloom

As for cutting, grubbing and burning in August – well I also don’t need to tell you that – although our honey crop may be in, our bees are busily working all the other flowers in the hedgerows for as long as the weather allows in their build up for winter. Blackberry, for one, can flower well into October.

Let’s not forget that the heather will bloom all the way through August and into September. Heather is defined as scrub too.

Heather in August

Hedgecutting usually means decapitating mature hawthorn trees so there will be no flowers for the bees on such victims for several years.

Then there’s other important bee trees – willow and hazel – otherwise known as scrub. We need all of this stuff!

Let’s not forget the ivy either!

This bill is due before the Seanad this week – 21st February 2017 -and beekeepers need to make their feelings known to their TDs, Senators and MEPs before it is all too late:

Independent Alliance

Detail

Here’s the section or the ‘Heritage’ Bill that will have most effect on bees, birds and other wildlife – vertebrate and invertebrate:

Part 3

Wildlife

Section 7 sets out definitions relating to the wildlife primary legislation.

Section 8 provides for amendments to section 40 of the Wildlife Acts. The new provisions under section 8 give the Minister power by Regulations to permit to the burning of vegetation in March, during such period or periods and in such areas of the State as the Minister may specify. Section 8 also provides for the amendment of section 40 to allow landowners or their agents to cut, grub or destroy vegetation in any hedge or ditch during August, subject to such Regulations as the Minister may make.

Section 9 relates to updating references to Inland Fisheries Ireland and to current fisheries legislation.

Section 10 provides for clarification of the powers of authorised officers of the Department and An Garda Síochána under the Wildlife Acts.

Section 11 provides for the updating of penalties for offences under the Wildlife Acts and the introduction of fixed payment notices for certain offences.

The bill in its entirety can be viewed here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/216/b216s-memo.pdf

Click here to sign a petition agains this bill

Click here for Birdwatch Ireland reaction to this bill

Click here for AnTaisce reaction

Click here for Bee Flowers in August

Click here for Bee Flowers in March

Click here for more about Gorse

Click here for more about heather

Click here for more about Willow

Click here for more about Hawthorn

Click here for more about Hazel

Click here for more about Ivy

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Bee Flowers – February

Gimlet — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:07:10 +0000

February 1st is the Feast Day of St Brigid (AD450-525) female patron saint of Ireland.

For us Celts it is also the first day of Spring but you Saxon Dogs will have to wait till March 20th!

For the bees though – read on:

There are a few hardy plants that flower in early spring but only the willow (Salix spp) can produce enough nectar for a small surplus and only in a very warm spring.

Of course the Native bee will forage at lower temperatures and is better able to take advantage of what little fresh nectar and pollen is available.

Until today – I’ve never seen a bee on a dandelion and didn’t really believe they found them interesting but here’s the evidence they do and the pollen loads are yellow:

Yellow daffodil pollen

The table below shows some possible bee flowers for February. Green lines are Irish natives. Click it for a better view:

Some bee flowers for February

Click here for March Bee Flowers

Click here for April Bee Flowers

Click here for May Bee Flowers

Click here for June Bee Flowers

Click here for July Bee Flowers

Click here for August Bee Flowers

Click here for September Bee Flowers

Click here for October Bee Flowers

Click here for November Bee Flowers

Click here for more about Gorse

Click here for a general seasonal guide to important bee flowers

Click here for photos of pollen load colours

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Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020

Gimlet — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 16:01:55 +0000

The picture above is by Vincent Van Gogh (obviously says you), it lives in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and is called ‘Wheatfield with Crows’. It was painted in 1890 – possibly his last picture. Vincent didn’t know about climate change or intensive agriculture; if he had, he would probably have cut the other ear off and left the crows out.

Pollinator Decline

Pollinators, including honey bees, are in decline all over Europe due to habitat loss, climate change and modern agricultural practices. All the usual culprits. This is fact.

Anybody in doubt about that should cast their minds back to the good old days when car windscreens would be so plastered with crushed insects – regular stops were needed to scrape them off.

Mind you, cars were rather less streamlined then and a bit more – er – ‘boxy’:

My dad had one of these when we were little – there were toadstools growing in it.

Einstein

Einstein said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, man would have only four years left to live“.

Einstein defying gravity

They now say he probably didn’t say that at all but then they would wouldn’t they. Whether he said it or not – the bleak nugget of truth in that sentence seems to have reached most people.

Threatened Pollinators

Ireland’s wild pollinators include 20 species of bumble bee, 77 solitary bee species plus 1 species of honey bee. All of these are entirely dependent on flowers to exist so it is bees that carry out most of the pollination services.

33% of these are threatened with extinction.

Other pollinators include flies, butterflies, moths, wasps, ants, beetles.

Between them, their pollination services are thought to be worth €153 billion worldwide and at least €53 million in Ireland.

In response to the very real threat to these insects and (god forbid) the economy, many countries including Ireland have put in place plans to attempt to reverse the trend of pollinator loss.

Ireland’s Pollinator Plan 2015 – 2020

Biodiversity Ireland with Trinity College Dublin and a 15 member steering panel of experts have devised a 5 year plan to address pollinator decline and protect the pollination service these insects freely provide to agriculture, horticulture and the countryside in general.

Click this to download the All Ireland Pollinator Plan

Objectives

The plan has 5 objectives:

Making Ireland pollinator friendly.
Pinpoint things that can be done on farmland, public land and private land, to create an interconnected network of wildflower-rich pollinator-friendly habitats.
Raising awareness of pollinators and how
to protect them.
Increase awareness of the importance of
pollinators and the resources they need to survive.
Managed pollinators – supporting beekeepers and growers. To achieve healthy, sustainable populations of managed pollinators that can play a full role in delivering pollination services.
Expanding our knowledge of pollinators and pollination service Increase research and knowledge to find the best and most cost-effective ways to protect pollinators.
Collecting evidence to track change and measure success Survey pollinators and monitor change to ensure the Plan is working.

Eighty one actions have been indentified to achieve these aims and have been shared out among sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental organisations which have agreed to support the plan.

The recommended actions include:

Hedgerows

Planting new hedgerows with native species such as hawthorn, hazel, willow and blackberry etc. Old hedgerows should be maintained properly and cut less often. Vegetation at hedge bases should not be sprayed so wild flowers are conserved.

Wildflowers

Should be encouraged along hedges, lanes and field corners. Buffer strips containing native wild flowers should be planted along field margins and cut between September and April only. Further management practices can include grazing to conserve and improve these areas.

Nectar and Pollen rich shrubs and trees

Planting of willow, hazel, hawthorn, horse chestnut and blackthorn in hedges and field corners, parks, schools etc.

Nesting Areas

Tussocky grass and nettles provide nesting areas for bumble bees. Bare uncompacted ground for solitary bees.

The Other Bits

I added the photo below to demonstrate just how much land is not hedgerow or hedge base. When these fields are planted with rye grass, rye grass, rye grass or in modern day crop rotation of barley, barley, barley, wheat, barley, they are as about as useful to bees and other pollinating insects as these flooded fields:

Funding

The plan points to government initiatives that are already in force and it is hoped that communities and local authorities will formulate projects and seek funding from local and national government. There is also the possibility of funding from Europe.

Honey Bees

All of these measures will help honeybees and that is to be welcomed. However, apart from the spectre of mapping and education on diseases the plan is a bit short on specific help for honey bees. All beekeeping associations already provide education on diseases.

The plan describes honey bees as being ‘domesticated’ or ‘managed’.

Domesticated

Before the Varroa mite, which came in with imported bees in 1999 or thereabouts, the honeybee lived as wild as all the other Irish pollinators. Until recently it was thought to be extinct as a wild species but recent research has shown that Ireland’s native bee – Apis mellifera mellifera is in fact alive and kicking in the wild. Presumably it is adapting to cope with Varroa – perhaps becoming swarmier.

Imports

It is a shame that no steps are suggested in this plan to prevent further imports of foreign bees and the exotic pests that come in with them. That would have helped to protect the honey bee.

Managed

Also the plan says this, “The needs of managed honeybees are very different to those of wild pollinators. Beekeepers can move colonies to where forage sources are available, and can provide extra resources over the winter.”

Well, that’s just not true. The majority of beekeepers in Ireland are hobbyists – that is they have a couple of hives in the garden and no other apiary.

To move bees, you need to have somewhere to take them and you need the know-how to move them. It’s not a walk in the park you know. Moving bees is stressful for both bees and beekeepers. It is not for the fainthearted – it is ticklish, potentially dangerous and certainly not for the novice. But that’s for another post.

Conclusion

Much is made of planting wildflowers but there are wildflowers and there are wildflowers. Anyone thinking of sowing wildflowers should try and get Irish natives. Foreign wildflowers evolved with foreign insects and may not be appropriate here.

Irish wildflower seed is available from Sandro Cafolla – more info on his website www.wildflowers.ie

Click here for Biodiversity Ireland and the Ireland Pollinator Plan

Click here for Irish Wildflower seeds

Click here for Hedgelaying Ireland

Click here for more about Bees and Climate Change

Click here for Bee Trees – Hawthorn

Click here for Bee Trees – Hazel

Click here for Bee Trees – Ivy

Click here for Bee Trees – Horse Chestnut

Click here for Bee Trees – Sycamore

Click here for Bee Trees – Willow

Click here for Bee Trees – Lime