RESEARCH & CONCEPT.

What is the demand for habitat for pollinators?

Who are the key pollinators in Italy?

In Europe, pollinators are mainly bees and hoverflies, but also butterflies, moths, some beetles and wasps.

The domesticated western honeybee is the best-known species and is managed by beekeepers for honey production and other products. Europe also counts about 2,000 wild species, Europe hosts 10% of the worlds bees species.

Other pollinators include birds, mice and rodents, as well as people through contact and activities.

Pollinators require specific environments for nesting, pollinating and in the case of bees producing honey. Pollinator’s environments are in decline due to a number of factors (see right) and therefore the pollinator population is also in decline.

Why do we need them?

80% of Crops and Wildflowers rely on pollination from bees and insects to reproduce. €15billion of the EU’s annual agricultural output is attributed to the role of pollinators.

Information sourced: European Parliment [online] [accessed 03/04/2023] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20191129STO67758/what-s-behind-the-decline-in-bees-and-other-pollinators-infographic

Few plants self-pollinate: the vast majority depend on animals, wind or water for reproduction. Although there is no scientific data currently giving a full picture of the crisis, there is considerable evidence of a decline in pollinators, due primarily to human activities. 1 in 10 bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction in Europe.

During a vote on the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 electors called for an urgent revision of the EU Pollinators Initiative. The revised initiative includes EU-wide pollinator monitoring framework with clear time-bound objectives and indicators and targets of reducing the use of more hazardous and chemical pesticides by 50%.

The decline does not have one single cause, but threats include

Why do we need to provide habitat for pollinators? In

1. Land-use changes for agriculture or urbanisation, which result in the loss and degradation of natural habitats.

2. Intensive agriculture leads to homogeneous landscapes and the disappearance of diverse flora, reducing food and nesting resources.

3. Pesticides and other pollutants can also affect pollinators directly (insecticides and fungicides) and indirectly (herbicides).

4. Particularly dangerous for honeybees are invasive alien species such as the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) and diseases such as parasites.

5. Changing climate with rising temperatures and extreme weather events.

1 in 3 20 % 10 % of

Use of local native species

What is needed in a habitat for pollinators?

What do pollinators need?

Pollinators have a variety of nesting and living environments, many species nest in dead wood, other burrow within loose soil, some live in aquatic conditions and others nest within dense vegetation. To provide an ideal environment a variety of species and ecosystem types are required including aquatic, meadow and flowering species, flowering trees, larger trees which produce sap and fruit and flowering bushes. Alongside providing resources for pollinators the environment aims to also mitigate the urban impacts of the context by mitigating emissions from local industry, providing space not impacted by humans and reducing urban heat island impacts by providing shading.

Our urban forest will need to provide a number of pollinator habitats, providing nesting habitat, pollen and nectar, winter and hibernation habitat and refuge from urban impacts and pesticides. It will also connect to other local green spaces and add an additional node to the existing green network that is within close proximity for pollinators to travel.

Reducing and mitigating urban impacts

Reduce artificial lighting at night

Mitigate air pollution with carbon sequestration

Weeds can have extended flowering periods, or flower at different times than native plants, expanding the foraging season for many groups of pollinators

Reduce urban heat island impact - through canopy shading

Provide an enhanced environment for pollinators

Adding to the green network - close proximity for insects to travel from other green spaces

Mitigate human impact - creating non-human areas

Native and diverse species to reduce chance of disease

Fruit trees give off fragrance in the spring that draws bees in.

Herbivorous caterpillars or xylophagous beetle larvae become nectar-feeding butterflies and beetles

Social bumblebees will forage in private or community gardens

Many bees, such as species of the genus Xylocopa, depend on dead wood for nesting

Trees that provide saps and resins that mix with beeswax to waterproof, and sterilize the hive cavity.

By reducing human use to a small number of trails or areas will benefit ground beetles, ground-nesting bees.

Dragonflies depend on aquatic and terrestrial habitats to complete their life cycle.

Queens construct nests in the lessdisturbed soils or forest edges.

Deadwood for nesting

Native and indigenous planting

Flowering trees and trees with sap for bees

Exposed - low impacted soil for burrowing

Provide water bodies for all-stages of life of pollinators - larvae and aquatic life.

Wild flower species and extended annual flowering period.