Tip of the Month - Plant bidens for the Bumblebees

Bumblebees are dying of hunger and in grave danger of disappearing from Ireland's countryside and gardens.

The population of the most common bumblebees has plummeted by 14 pc in just seven years and a third of our 21 species are critically endangered.

We keep tidying up nature so we have lots of grassland and parkland with no dandelions or clover or other wildflowers and the bumblebees die of hunger.

'Petunias, begonias, primulas and most of the bedding plants we like so much are useless as sources of nectar . . If we could get people to plant bidens and bacopas, it would really help,' says Dr Una Fitzpatrick, who runs the bumblebee monitoring scheme for the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

Source: Independant.ie