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 Weed prevention on rape field

 

I have written earlier about the fact that the situation of bumblebees has deteriorated:

http://looduskalender.ee/en/node/21297

I also brought out various reasons, among others the intensified agriculture together with changes in land use. But how to encourage bumblebees in agricultural areas?

 

1.      Observe if the bumblebees have flowering forage plants during their whole period of activity, from early spring to late summer. Certain abundantly flowering crop plants (e g clovers, lucerne, melilotus, rape) offer bumblebees rich food resources – the pea family (Fabaceae) plants are particularly good food sources. But bumblebees need food even when crop plants are not in flower. For this the presence of permanent grasslands, semi-natural biotopes and all kinds of field separating and edge strips are important. Good food sources include fruit, berry and flower gardens. You can sow or plant more of suitable plants. Bumblebees for instance like the clovers, brown and greater  knapweeds, wood cow-wheat, viper’s bugloss, willowherb, St. Johns wort, vetch, bird’s-foot trefoil and field scabious.

 

2.     Leave wintering and nesting places for the bumblebees. Old mouse burrows, rotting tree, old stone walls, compost heaps, mounds of cut vegetation, old sand and gravel pits and other hollows to be found in nature are suitable for this. Thus it is not necessary to be too industrious in tidying up the surroundings. Bumblebees can also prepare nests themselves and set them in a suitable spot. For species nesting and wintering on the ground and below, areas that will not be ploughed are extremely important.

 

3.     Limit the use of pesticides in order to avoid poisoning of bumblebees. In particular ensure in using plant protection products for crop plants that they will not affect the flora on the verge areas. Be sure to avoid spraying flowering crop plants.

 

4.    Bumblebee friendly fields should not be too large; this is particularly true of fields needing insect pollination. The reason is the limited flight range of bumblebees from the nest (some species less than 500 m, some up to 2 km. Since fields are cultivated continuously bumblebees cannot nest there but must fly elsewhere from the field. For this reason the recommendation is to set fields with such crops as narrow strips or small fields near flower-rich biotopes.

 

Which plants at field verges attract bumblebees? Note those species on the bumblebee web form and help finding new knowledge about the distribution of bumblebees in Estonia!

 

Bubmlebee reference guide and questionnaire: LINK

Bubmlebee identification forms: LINK

Bumblebee web questionnaire: LINK

Join the „Meie kimalases – Our bumblebees“ group´on Facebook: LINK