Perfect Pollination

This spring has proved to be perfect for pollinators and the essential task they perform in keeping our world alive. Most pollinators are insects: bees, flies, butterflies, moths and beetles but some birds play an important part too and bats, whose work goes largely unseen. Many wild flowers are essential to the survival of these pollinators.

Dandelions are right at the top of the list for bee survival. After a long winter, the flowering of Dandelions decides the fate of bees for the year - no dandelions, no bees, no bees - failure of crops and reduction in harvests of fruit and vegetables.

Bees and other insects need lots, carpets of dandelion flowers, not just the odd one here and there as they are the best source of early nectar for bees emerging from hibernation, coinciding with flowering in spring.

A Hoverfly nectaring on Dandelion - 25th April 2018

Dandelions on the river bank field - 20th April 2018

Like most wild flowers this spring, they were late in flowering - but bees and other insects were late in emerging too.

Later the flowers will go to seed providing food for house sparrows and goldfinches.

The abundance of Dandelions eventually gave way to an abundance of Buttercups:

Buttercups on the river bank 10th May 2018

At the same time, in a shady copse, Wild Garlic gave way to Cow Parsley:

10th May 2018

Many insects were attracted to the Cow Parsley flowers in damp, dappled shade along the river.

With so many bees, flies and other insects having been attracted to the wild flowers, pollination of nearby fruit trees and berry-bearing plants continued and now, at the end of June, we can see their success - an abundance of new berries and fruits, meanwhile pollination continues amongst flowering Brambles and Rosa canina.

Honeybee on flowering Bramble - 22nd June 2018