Why allotments offer urban oases for bees and butterflies
In a new study, researchers have unveiled a “Plan Bee” for boosting biodiversity in the midst of city life.
Rinke Vinkenoog
The Conversation
July 15, 2020
Excerpt:
The researchers created identical flower beds in parks and other public green spaces in the German city of Aachen, and replicated these in a nearby rural area. They watched for the bees, bumblebees, wasps and other insects that arrived and compared their diversity between the two.
These beds included a combination of flowers that were likely to attract a diverse range of species, from black-eyed Susan, a flower that appeals to a wide variety of pollinators, to snapdragons which are favoured by bumblebees. Insects which live in colonies, like honeybees and bumblebees, were recorded less often in the flower beds than expected. These species often forage over several kilometres, but they will only do so if there is lots of nectar and pollen to make it worth the effort.
So what does this tell us about what makes a good urban site for pollinators? In Aachen, most of the urban flower beds attracted fewer insects than those placed in rural areas. The exception to this was the community gardens – what we’d call allotments in the UK. These places often had comparable numbers of pollinator visitors to the rural site.
This tells a similar story to another study which looked at the UK and found that allotment gardens can be hotspots for pollinators – veritable oases within towns and cities.
