Bees are vital in Northern Ireland and throughout the world. Northern Ireland has many bee keepers and enthusiasts who meet in Cullybackey near Ballymena but our environment needs bees to keep ticking over.
Whether people live in a town or in the countryside, we are being urged to help create or improve a habitat for pollinators, including bees, in five simple ways:
- Grow more nectar- and pollen-rich flowers, shrubs and trees
- Leave patches of land to grow wild
- Cut grass less often
- Avoid disturbing or destroying nesting or hibernating insects
- Think carefully about whether to use pesticides
There are at least 1500 species of insect pollinators in the UK. This includes 26 species of bumble bee, 260 solitary bees, 1 honey bee species and hundreds of types of hoverflies, butterflies and moths. (Source)
Hopefully considerate gardening and farming in Ballymena and throughout Northern Ireland will help bees and other pollinators thrive in the years to come.
Bees – Northern Ireland