Ringing the changes

Posted on Mar 16, 2026 by scottishpollinators

A few weeks ago a flurry of emails landed in my inbox. They were council updates for Scotland’s Annual Pollinator Strategy Progress Report. As ever they carried exciting news of projects here and there, projects big and small, and always they told of good things happening for pollinators.

I was impressed too by the honesty in the council updates. For it isn’t all plain sailing helping pollinators. Changing the way greenspaces are managed, marshalling equipment to manage meadows, and coping with the vagaries of nature, are all part and parcel of the challenges our council teams face day in, day out, as they strive to do their bit for wildlife.

Some 200,000 people live in East and West Dunbartonshire and in recent years they’ve seen their councils take impressive steps to help nature and in particular pollinators, mainly in the form of meadow creation. There are additional benefits to be gleaned from this burst of floral endeavour, for the creation of nature-rich urban greenspaces offers opportunities to help tackle another major current concern, our mental and physical well-being.

On any given day a council might face both praise and criticism for the actions they take, and this applies to meadow creation and management in particular. It’s a delicate balancing act at times. The tradition of uniform, almost manicured urban grass areas is engrained and longstanding across Britain. Inevitably it takes patience and convincing arguments to bring everyone round to what can be a fundamental change in local land management and appearance. Steps that are known to help are retaining wide grass strips near houses and paths, as well as cutting ‘desire line’ paths through meadows. Maintaining easy access, ‘framing’ meadows, and pushing engaging communications on the value of meadows can help persuade residents to embrace change.

High Park meadow in Lennoxtown being sown

In Lennoxtown a creative trade-off delivered a good result for people and nature. The creation of 2,000m2 of new wildflower meadow was a direct response to a loss of greenspace due to the installation of an eagerly anticipated new astroturf football pitch. Astroturf has no obvious nature benefit, so offsetting its arrival with a nature-rich alternative seems like a good compromise, It’s often a case of swings and roundabouts. The new football pitches are popular and a fine community asset. So, the aspiring footballers got their pitch and nature got a new meadow, what some would call a win-win situation. The council even went a step further by installing mining bee bricks on the outside wall of the new changing rooms. To the delight of many these bricks were almost immediately occupied by masonry bees.

Yellow rattle is well known for its ability to suppress grass growth and allow wildflower plants to better establish, hence its nickname of ‘the meadow maker’. Those who are able to sow yellow rattle seed initially, with a view to then introducing pot-grown wildflowers into the new meadow areas, can see their meadow off to a flying start, although there are no guarantees in nature. However, pre-germinated plug-plants going in after a yellow rattle exercise are in all likelihood a safer bet than simply hopefully scattering wildflower seed.

Experimenting with new approaches is another key part of many council biodiversity schemes. In East Dunbartonshire the council are now rotating areas earmarked for cut-and-lift. This is a sensible approach as it provides key uncut habitat for overwintering insects and other invertebrates as well as extended feeding opportunities for mammals, amphibians and birds. The council feel that the removal of all tall vegetation simultaneously at every site is ultimately damaging to biodiversity populations. They cite the example of Burnet Moths which pupate high in the vegetation and are very vulnerable to cut and lift of vegetation.

Over in West Dunbartonshire the council have likewise continued pollinator-friendly management wherever possible. Most of these plots continue to be both good for pollinators and aesthetically pleasing for local residents. Adapting and responding to challenges however is part and parcel of the approach, and not everything works first time, every time. Greenspaces rarely stand still, and over time they inevitably change. An example of this was demonstrated when five West Dunbartonshire sites had to be selectively resown with wildflower seed after they didn’t take well on the first try.

“Do enhanced greenspaces make a difference?”, I hear you ask. That’s a question they’ve asked in West Dunbartonshire. Two impressive new meadows, created from scratch in Alexandria and Dumbarton, have sparked a desire to record what thrives in these young meadows. Exploring the UK PoMS FIT counts is the likely route the council will take to get an indication of how successful their interventions have been for pollinators.

Amenity grassland with germinating yellow rattle

Monitoring is one thing, machinery is quite another. To carry out effective cut-and-lift practices you need appropriate machinery. This can be expensive, used but sporadically and, alas, ask any mechanic and they will confirm that where you have machinery it isn’t unknown to hit the odd mechanical issue. So we must add machinery to the list of challenges councils face when seeking to change greenspace management practices.

A simple way to get a variety of opinions is to ask people what they think of meadows over the course of a year. Delightful and beautiful to some, scruffy to others. Nobody said changing long-established practices would be easy. Thank goodness our councils show perseverance, for their persistence is good news for biodiversity and people.

Bald and bold

Posted on Mar 9, 2026 by scottishpollinators

By Athayde Tonhasca

About 80% of all flowering plants rely on animals for their fertilisation, which is achieved by the transferring of pollen grains from one flower to another. The bulk of this service is done by insects, although not all of them are up to the task; in fact, most flower visitors don’t pollinate. A successful pollen vector must have certain traits such as being of the right size for a given plant, staying on a flower long enough for effective pollen gathering, and being abundant so that a sufficient number of pollen grains is carried away. But the main attribute of a good pollinator is hairiness (pilosity). Insect hairs – technically, they are setae – are important tools for the collection, retention and transfer of pollen. Unsurprisingly then, hairiness is a common attribute of most of the ~20,000 species of bee, the main pollinators of crops and wild plants around the world. Other important pollinators such as flies and moths are equally hirsute.

A ligated furrow bee (*Halictus ligatus*) illustrates the importance of body hair © USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory, Wikimedia Commons.

We are so familiar with fuzzy bees that coming across yellow-face or masked bees (Hylaeus spp.) can be puzzling, because they are mostly glabrous (with few or no hairs). Yellow-face bees are also shiny, slender, usually black with yellow or white markings on their face and legs. All these features give them a wasplike appearance – so unsurprisingly, they are often mistaken for wasps.

A yellow-face bee © Steve Buchanan, U.S. Forest Service.

Waspy appearances notwithstanding, Hylaeus spp. are solitary bees that need pollen to feed their young. Harvesting it the way bees usually do it would be tricky. Besides being endowed with a few scattered hairs, if any, yellow-face bees have no scopa (specialised pollen-carrying hairs) and no corbiculae (pollen baskets). But these bees don’t need special transport structures: they carry pollen internally. They ingest and store pollen and nectar in their food crop (or honey stomach), a chamber in the bee’s digestive system that precedes the ‘true’ stomach, which digests food. Once back at her nest, the bee regurgitates the contents of her crop into individual brood cells, each containing an egg. The liquid mixture of pollen and nectar will feed the hatched larvae.

A yellow-face bee repeatedly regurgitating a nectar droplet then swallowing it again (bubbling), thus concentrating the nectar. Mixed with pollen, the solution is a rich baby formula for the larvae © Fritz Geller-Grimm, Wikimedia Commons.

Since yellow-face bees ingest pollen, we may wonder what role they have in pollination. The wondering is justifiable. Yellow-face bees often function as pollen thieves, a term used for visitors that consume pollen or take it all away, thus making no or minor contribution to plant fertilisation. Their larceny may be expressed as robbery, when they get pollen or nectar by forceful means, for example by prying open or piercing a flower. Because as little as 2% of pollen removed from a flower ends up pollinating another one (Johnson & Harder, 2023), pollen theft and pollen robbery can substantially limit plant reproduction.

A *H. douglasi* after robbing pollen from a flame grevillea (*Grevillea excelsior*) in Australia. She will scoop up and ingested the pollen grains adhered to her face, body and wings © Jacobi & Newman, 2012.

Being virtually hairless as well as pollen gorgers are indicators of poor pollination provision, but there’s more damning evidence. Many yellow-face bees are quite small as bee sizes go, which makes pollen transfer harder. A small insect searching for pollen-producing anthers on a mid-sized or large flower is likely to stay clear of pollen-receptive stigmas.

Size range of European yellow-face bees © IDmyBee.

Taking in all the above, we may be tempted to dismiss yellow-face bees altogether from the list of pollinating insects. But that would be rushed. And sure enough, in faraway Hawaii, Haleakala silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum) relies mostly on the Hawaiian yellow-face bee (H. nivicola) and related species for pollination. This rare and endangered plant – which would fit nicely in the background of a 1960s Lost in Space episode – is endemic to the harsh environment of elevations above 2,100 m at the Haleakala volcano in the island of Maui.

Haleakala silversword plants in a variety of developmental stages © U.S. National Park Service.

These Hawaiian yellow-face bees excel in two aspects: large numbers and high frequency of flower visitation, features that seem to compensate for their other limitations as pollinators (Krushelnycky, 2014). The Hawaiian archipelago turns out to suit yellow-face bees very well, as it hosts 63 described species – seven of them endangered – but the true number is likely to be higher. This diversity in greater than in the whole of continental United States, but the pollinating role of these Hawaiian bees is poorly known.

The tiny Hawaiian yellow-face bee has what it takes to pollinate Haleakala silversword © Forest and Kim Starr, Wikimedia Commons.

Yellow-face bees also leave their mark as pollinators about 7,000 km away across the Pacific. In New Zealand, H. matamoko responds for over 90% of the pollen transfer for two alpine herbs, Ourisia glandulosa and Wahlenbergia albomarginata. In these mountainous habitats, most plants produce flowers that are too small for most potential pollinators, who cannot handle the miniscule reproductive structures or just don’t bother with their meagre rewards (Bischoff et al., 2013).

*O. glandulosa* flowers are too small for most pollinators but are just fine for *H. matamoko* © Katie Jenkins, Wikimedia Commons.

There are several hundred species of yellow-face bees inhabiting a range of habitats around the world (11 in Britain), sometimes in large numbers. It would be reasonable to expect finding many other plants taking advantage of these bees as pollinating agents, because sometimes small is better.

References

Bischoff, M. et al. 2013. The relative importance of solitary bees and syrphid flies as pollinators of two outcrossing plant species in the New Zealand alpine. Austral Ecology 38: 169–176.

Jacobi, B. & Newman, M. 2012. Pollen collecting behaviour of the hylaeine bees Hylaeus (Hylaeteron) douglasi MICHENER, 1965 and H. (Hylaeteron) riekianus HOUSTON, 1981 (Colletidae, Hylaeinae) on Grevillea-species (Proteaceae) in Western Australia. Bembix 33: 8-18.

Johnson, S.D. & Harder, L.D. 2023. The economy of pollen dispersal in flowering plants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290: 20231148.

Krushelnycky, P.D. 2014. Evaluating the interacting influences of pollination, seed predation, invasive species and isolation on reproductive success in a threatened alpine plant. PLoS ONE 9: e88948.

Big ideas in a small state

Posted on Mar 2, 2026 by scottishpollinators

Estonia may be the smallest of the Baltic nations, but when it comes to pollinator provision it thinks big. The ‘Pollinator Highway’ (Putukaväil, to use the local name) in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, is an environmental winner and something the country is rightly proud of and at our recent pollinator conference Paco-Ernest Ulman gave a fascinating insight into the project.

Situated along a route previously dominated by railways tracks and high-voltage power lines, the Pollinator Highway is now a delightful green corridor which serves as a boon for biodiversity and an important social asset. Stretching 11 km it takes in several central districts, and runs from Telliskivi community in the north of Tallinn to Hiiu community in the south.

A recent study revealed that almost the entire corridor is ever-richer in flora and fauna. Whether in open areas along the main route, or on former wasteland behind garages and factories, the transformation of this artery through Tallinn has been a welcome boost for nature.

Estonia is home to around 285 species of bees, including 28 strains of bumblebee and 256 species of solitary bees. The recent study noted that although the green pollinator highway contained 20 kinds of bumblebee, 33 species of solitary bees, and 33 varieties of butterfly, different sections had different value for the pollinators. This has been the basis of pollinator-friendly actions: concentrating on improving the pollinator habitats in sections where it is needed the most.

This is encouraging, as a deal of thought had gone into creation the green stepping stones through Tallinn. A diversity of planting and recognition of key food plants was central in planning of the creation of the green corridor. From the outset the goal was to offer the longest possible food supply for pollinators, combined with an aesthetic experience which communities would admire and enjoy. Plants such as cowslip, common knapweed, white clover, and meadowsweet joined dozens of other species to help ensure a diverse insect fauna and visual spectacle.

It wasn’t only selection of plants that was used to create a viable environmentally focussed greenspace. The ground was not levelled in order to create hollows, ditches, and other landforms which would provide as many micro-habitats as possible. As well as the sculpting of land and low-level planting, trees and large shrubs were used to create structure in the space. This help provide shade, protection from winds, whilst simultaneously creating both feeding and nesting habitats.

There was also the implementation of a pollinator-friendly mowing regime. The study confirmed that over-intensive management of the green areas was a major reason for the decline in pollinator diversity and abundance, so steps were taken to introduce a more sympathetic management regime for the green corridor

Whilst the main objective of the nature-friendly route through Tallinn was to increase biodiversity, side by side with this aim was a desire to encourage people to use the area. To this end an active travel philosophy was encourage through the creation of a bike path arrowing into the city centre, and a tram line was promoted to encourage use of public transport and green travel.

Recreational areas were dotted through the pollinator highway and offer opportunities for both younger and older people to enjoy the site. These ‘Activity Pockets’ included things like swings, football pitches, viewing platforms, outdoor grills, and benches. Benches, might seem like a low-key addition, but they are sited at regular intervals along the light-traffic axis to encourage people to linger and help those who might wish a gentle outing rather than a physically challenging outing. Add to the mix public water taps and bike racks and it’s clear the design and infrastructure are geared to making the corridor a place many will want to use.

Areas for picnicking and outdoor learning are factored in too, as are allotments. Much of this public provision stems from an idea gathering session conducted with local communities during the spring of 2019. The pollinator highway was built for the community using the community’s input rather than imposed on the city by bureaucrats

The first 1.2 km section of the pollinator highway was completed in 2025. The project swallowed up 7m Euros, which might seem a lot, but the culprit is the need to completely reconstruct underground infrastructure before the landscaping. Aesthetically the green corridor, which connects six different Tallinn city districts, was greatly enhanced when previously very visible high-voltage electrical were moved to underground cables. This was expensive, but an attractive solution served to free up space for development and increase the visual appeal of the site.

Next time you visit Tallinn it might be worth checking out the Putukaväil. The Viru Gate, Toompea Hill and City Walls will always attract visitors, but the pollinator highway deserves attention as an bold, ambitious step in a time of nature and pollinator challenges.

References:

Survey of pollinator species along the Pollinator Highway in Tallinn.

The concept of the Pollinator Highway was developed with the support of two European Union projects. Both the Augmented Urbans project (2018-2020) and the B.Greenproject (2020-2022) were funded by the Central Baltic Programme, which supported cross-border cooperation, sustainable urban mobility, and cohesive communities.

Thanks: We are extremely grateful to Paco-Ernest Ullman for talking at our Pollinator Conference and for permission to use slides from his presentation.

Witty impostors

Posted on Feb 23, 2026 by scottishpollinators

By Athayde Tonhasca

On its release in 1956, Invasion of the Body Snatchers did not impress the critics. A spiel about alien plant spores growing into sociopathic duplicates of human beings was considered too outlandish. While the intelligentsia trashed the film, the producers laughed all the way to the bank because it was a commercial hit: the public loved it. One of the reasons for the film’s success was its ‘aliens among us’ theme. The idea of ill-intentioned beings circulating freely and unsuspectedly in the mist of our society is disturbing and gripping – especially during the McCarthy era, when Americans were inspecting their closets for hidden communists. ‘Enemies within’ inspired and inspires countless tales about spies, infiltrated assassins, covert extra-terrestrials, psycho cyborgs and zombified humans.

*Invasion of the Body Snatchers* received numerous accolades and is today considered a science-fiction/horror classic © Allied Artists, Wikimedia Commons.

Despite what assorted internet sages tell us, tales of aliens’ secret forays into world domination are entertaining fibs. But the natural world provides many real body snatching thrills such as parasitic flies that zombify their victims or induce them to dig their own graves, or wasps that make their hosts work for them. These cases involve species we may already suspect to be mischievous. That some bumble bees could play similar tricks may surprise many.

Superficially, cuckoo bumble bees, Bombus species of the subgenus Psithyrus, look like any of their social (non-parasitic) relatives. But a close inspection of a female’s hind leg shows no pollen basket (corbicula), which is a shallow cavity surrounded by a fringe of long hairs, a structure used to store pollen to be carried away.

Hind legs of a vestal cuckoo bumble bee (*B. vestalis*) on left, and a buff-tailed bumble bee (*B. terrestris*) © Alvesgaspar, Wikimedia Commons.

She has no corbiculae because she gathers no pollen; cuckoo bumble bees do not found their own nests nor produce a worker caste: there are only male and female reproductive forms. Instead, a female invades the nest of a social bumble bee, lays her own eggs, which are cared for by her unsuspecting hosts. Raising the young at another species’ expenses is known as brood parasitism, a behaviour displayed by some cuckoo birds (order Cuculiformes) – hence Psithyrus bees’ common name.

A reed warbler (*Acrocephalus scirpaceus*) feeding an European cuckoo (*Cuculus canorus*) who has dispatched rival offspring by pushing them out of the nest © Per Harald Olsen, Wikimedia Commons.

Cuckoo bumble bees go beyond brood parasitism; they don’t just lay their eggs in a host’s nest and leave them to themselves like cuckoo birds do. These bees take over the victim’s colony, a form of exploitation known as social parasitism. Among insects, this strategy is employed mostly by bees, wasps and ants – of which slave-making ants are notorious – but also by other taxa such as the large blue butterfly (Phengaris arion). Once inside the host’s nest, the female cuckoo and her young live off pollen and nectar pilfered from their hosts, so they are also kleptoparasites – animals that steal food or prey from another animal.

We should pause to appreciate the challenges a cuckoo bumble bee faces. First, she has to locate the nest of a suitable host. She must then get in through a narrow entrance protected by a mob armed with poisonous stings and sharp mandibles. Once these defences have been overwhelmed, she must be able to usurp the colony from the host queen, lay her own eggs and induce the host workers to feed her and her developing brood. A tall order for any brood, social and klepto- parasite.

Cuckoo bumble bees coveting this tree bumble bee (*B. hypnorum*) nest must pass its sentries © Orangeaurochs, Wikimedia Commons.

Finding a nest is reasonably straightforward: like most social insects, cuckoo bumble bees rely on chemical signals from cuticular hydrocarbons to recognise nestmates, co-specific competitors and potential hosts. But locating a nest is just the start. It must be of suitable size: if too big, the defenders are likely to overwhelm and kill the trespasser; if too small, there will not be enough workers to care for her larvae. As an example, there’s a 100% survival for vestal cuckoo bumble bees invading buff-tailed bumble bee nests with five workers; survival drops to nil for colonies with fifty workers (Sramkova & Ayasse, 2009). To avoid disaster, the female cuckoo bumble bee assesses the size of the host colony possibly by their chemical signals and workers’ traffic (Lhomme & Hines, 2018).

After picking an appropriate target, the female cuckoo bumble bee must confront the residents, who understandably are not obliging. But the nest defenders face a formidable enemy: a cuckoo bumble bee is sturdier and better armed than her social counterparts. She has larger and stronger mandibles, more powerful sting muscles, an enlarged venom gland, and her ventral underside, a particularly vulnerable spot, is protected by thicker exoskeleton plates (sternites) (Richards, 1928). So, some cuckoo species use brute force: they bite, push and sting their way in.

Armed for breaking and entering: the variable cuckoo bumble bee (*B. variabilis*), a critically endangered North American species © USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.

But violence is not always necessary. Some species are let in because they mimic their host’s chemical signs. Others have no chemical signatures and display no aggressive behaviours; the host bees are not aware an enemy has sneaked in. The cuckoo will hide in a corner of the nest for a few days, long enough to acquire the scents of her host and blend in (Dronnet et al., 2005).

Once inside, our intruder has to deal with the queen, the only egg-laying member of the colony and thus the mother of all other bees, whose activities are controlled by their mum’s pheromones. Most cuckoo bumble bees don’t beat about the bush; they kill the queen and eat her eggs. Some species spare the deposed monarch, who loses control of her colony for reasons not completely understood: probably the usurper’s pheromones and physical aggression assure her dominance over the queen.

A brown-belted bumble bee queen (*B. griseocollis*) is strong, but no match for a cuckoo bumble bee © USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab.

After sorting out the queen problem, the cuckoo bumble bee is free to lay her own eggs and induce the host workers to feed her and her developing young, although how this is done is largely unknown. The resulting male and female cuckoo bees will leave the nest by late summer and look for mating partners. Like most other bees, the male dies soon after intercourse, while the female will search for a safe spot underground to overwinter, just like her hosts. She will emerge from her slumber late, giving sufficient time for her hosts to establish their nests. The female cuckoo bee spends some time hopping from flower to flower, sipping nectar while her ovaries mature, so that she will be ready to find and conquer a bumble bee nest.

Of the 250 or so Bombus species, roughly 30 have evolved into parasitism. We have a poor grasp of cuckoo species’ biology and ecology, partly because they fly about for a relatively short time and their numbers are naturally low, since they don’t have a worker caste. Thus they are difficult to find and study. But the lack of information comes largely from prejudice. Parasites in general are not viewed sympathetically, especially those that target ‘cute and lovable’ victims such as bumble bees. As a result, cuckoo bumble bees are often absent from local species lists and conservation plans. But that’s a misguided view. Parasites and predators are integral components of ecosystems, preventing over-dominance of some species in favour of rarer ones (Frainer et al., 2018). Cuckoo species should be admired and valued for their physiological, morphological and behavioural adaptations that allow them to overcome the defences of highly organised colonies. These bees of ill-repute are in fact evolutionary marvels.

A female red-tailed cuckoo bumble bee (*B. rupestris*), a widespread European species and a parasite of the equally abundant red-tailed bumble bee (*B. lapidarius*) © Ivar Leidus, Wikimedia Commons.

References

Dronnet, S. et al. 2005. Bumblebee inquilinism in Bombus (Fernaldaepsithyrus) sylvestris (Hymenoptera, Apidae): behavioural and chemical analyses of host-parasite interactions. Apidologie 36: 59–70.

Frainer, A. et al. 2018. Parasitism and the biodiversity-functioning relationship. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 33: 260–268.

Lhomme, P. & Hines, H. 2018. Ecology and evolution of cuckoo bumble bees. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 112: 122–140.

Richards, O.W. 1928. A revision of the European bees allied to Psithyrus quadricolor Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Bombidae). Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 76: 345–365.

Sramkova, A. & Ayasse, M. 2009. Chemical ecology involved in invasion success of the cuckoo bumblebee Psithyrus vestalis and in survival of workers of its host Bombus terrestris. Chemoecology 19: 55–62.

Reflections from Rewilding Denmarkfield through 2025

Posted on Feb 9, 2026 by scottishpollinators

As with early 2025, we are delighted to carry a guest blog from the Rewilding Denmarkfield project just north of Perth. Today our blog comes courtesy of Laurie Carruthers, former Community Outreach Officer at Denmarkfield, with thanks to Rebecca Houston for data analysis.

Rewilding Denmarkfield is nestled between the village of Luncarty and Perth’s new Destiny Bridge, flanked on one side by the River Tay’s riparian corridor and by the ever-busy A9 on the other. Depending on where you are on the site, beneath the quiet you might hear the rumble of the river or the din of the road, and above it, ears may prick at birdsong or the buzz of insects.

Indeed, Denmarkfield became known in 2024 for the impressive increase in bumblebee numbers recorded on the 90-acre site since rewilding began. Why not have a (re-)read of our previous blog entry which tells this hopeful tale here:

The site is but young in terms of land regeneration, though much has changed. In 2021, arable farming ceased and the land became managed for different outcomes; outcomes such as ecosystem function, complexity, and biodiversity, which are as much about the processes that enable and support them as any fixed or solitary ‘win’. Natural colonisation, regeneration, succession, grazing and, of course, pollination, are all big players within a much bigger whole, and are key companions on this rewilding journey. It is, nonetheless, very much a peopled journey, made vibrant and bigger yet by all those that have been involved in kickstarting or supporting these processes, in coming together to monitor and maintain, to learn, laugh, and play.

Let’s firstly take flight through the year in terms of pollinators, and then we’ll get to the people.

As we know, 2024 was a tricky time. Records of bumblebee numbers fell by over 20% (1) and it was one of the worst years on record for the last half century in terms of butterflies (2). Denmarkfield was of course not immune to these struggles, and several species were found to be in decline, particularly compared to 2023 where we had witnessed such strong numbers. Below ground nesters seemed to be impacted the most, with Red-tailed and Buff/White tailed bumblebee recordings falling significantly. Garden bumblebees bucked this trend and 2024 was their best year yet, with the Common Carder and Tree bumblebees also following suit with populations seeing a slight increase.

The tables turned with a new year and completely contrasting weather conditions, allowing those that struggled most to begin rebuilding their numbers, and Buff/White were found back up at 2023 records. Red‑tailed bumblebees also showed an encouraging increase, though their numbers still suggest a population recovering from the impacts of 2024 rather than one fully stabilised.

Interestingly, those that did better throughout the wet and cool conditions of 2024 – Carder, Tree, Garden – seemed to have taken a slight knock in 2025. This may simply reflect the shift in weather patterns or changes in foraging availability as plant communities change, as well as natural fluctuations in competition and colony success. It may also mirror wider regional patterns, the next BeeWalk Annual Report should offer a clearer picture of how these species fared across Britain.

Overall, however, our 2025 bumblebee numbers are strong and hopeful, up by 265% since 2022. As weather patterns become ever more unpredictable, we can only hope our pollinator trajectories continue to stabilise and to grow. Our 8-acre restored Species Rich Grassland in particular is evolving as a stronghold for bumblebees on site. Sown with Scotia Seed mix on inverted soil in 2023, and later over-sown with yellow rattle, its plant makeup shifts year-on-year, and watching it change through the months and the years is an absolute pleasure, demanding appreciation from both afar and up close. But what is clear is how attractive it is to pollinators, bumblebees in particular, with overall recordings increasing by over 800% since 2023. The hum and zing in the air on a calm, sunny day is unmistakable – the bees have moved in.

We recorded more butterflies onsite in 2025 than any year previous. Our numbers generally followed the Scottish trends, with increases in sightings of Peacock and Painted Lady, yet our most common butterfly this year was the Meadow Brown. Their numbers increased by 140% since last year, in contrast to their 61% average decline in Scotland (3). The ringlet, our most common butterfly in 2024, did decline into 2025 but only by 41% and not the 86% Scottish average. With abundant grassland and more flowering plants, Denmarkfield is ideal habitat for these common species who are nonetheless experiencing broad long-term decline and for whom preserving habitat is still essential. Excitingly, 2025 brought the return of the Dark Green Fritillary, a beautiful, large, and lesser-seen species that was spotted several times this season within the nectar-rich Species Rich Grassland.

*Dark green fritillary, observed and photographed by Project Officer, Rebecca Houston.*

Now, onto the people!

Each year we hold an anniversary party, Open Day style, inviting both new and familiar faces to gather and reflect, ask questions and walk the site. This annual celebration (falling as it did on National Meadows Day) was based around our Species Rich Grassland. Attendees could drop into mini monitoring stations for botany, birds, badgers, bees & butterflies – and it was an alliterative coincidence that all the nature we wanted to focus on started with a B! The day’s overcast skies didn’t call too many pollinators out but didn’t put too many people off either. With over 50 in attendance, there was barely any cake left!

We also ran a series of sessions, both through the local primary school and our kids holiday club, encouraging exploration, education, and connection around pollinators and wildflowers, aided by engagement resources generously provided by Jim Jeffrey, NatureScot Pollinator Strategy Manager. Our Rewilding Rangers summer bee and butterfly event had us talking about different species, from the fuzzy coats and various nesting preferences of the bombus, to the importance our own gardens can play. Each child had the chance to catch a bumblebee using one of our nets, studying them up close before gently releasing.

We were lucky enough to have several opportunities to work with the older pupils at Luncarty Primary School throughout 2025. An ID search for remaining wildflowers within Denmarkfield’s Species Rich Grassland, with bonus points for ‘feathers, poo/pellets, anything else interesting’ became a slurry of slugs as we were blessed with a sodden day! Each class later helped to collect the cuttings from the wildflower patches within the school grounds in late September – although the pupils were far more interested this time in the frogs that leapt amid the grass! Each child also benefitted from the NatureScot resources, an activity poster and a bumblebee pencil to take home, hopefully along with a renewed appreciation of the layered life that healthy habitats can provide.

From a personal perspective, as a volunteer and member of staff for the past two and a half years, it has been such a pleasure to be a part of this project and see it grow and evolve, to witness the passing of seasons up close, watch as the land changes by seeming stealth and suddenness, and pick up nuggets of nature knowledge from the site and the myriad kind and interesting people that care about it. There is a childlike reverence in seeing the familiar with fresh and curious eyes, a timelessness to moments of learning and noticing, and it is a privilege to share this with others. Navigating challenges and celebrating good things with a team – both staff and volunteers – that laugh as readily as they roll up their sleeves is an antidote to the niggling, sometimes crippling, anxiety that accompanies more awareness of the threats that nature (we) are currently facing. It is a special camaraderie and one that has taught me a lot – about pollinators, and about people.

Find out more, follow the journey, get involved:

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Bumblebee Conservation Trust, 2025, Bee Walk Annual Report
Butterfly Conservation, 2024, UK Butterfly Emergency Declared

Ibid: Big Butterfly Count results Scotland.

Beneficial saboteurs

Posted on Jan 29, 2026 by scottishpollinators

By Athayde Tonhasca

It’s approaching midday somewhere in the caatinga, northeastern Brazil’s hinterland, and the temperature will soon hit the 40^o C mark. All is quiet, as most animals are sensibly sheltering from the sizzling sun. The vegetation looks dead and stunted, but it is in fact quiescent, in a state of dormancy that helps plants endure the heat and drought until the rainy season arrives.

The *caatinga* vegetation in northeastern Brazil looks dead during dry season, but palm trees are green year round.

One palm tree, however, known locally as licuri (Syagrus coronata), doesn’t seem bothered by the harsh climate; it is verdant and in full bloom. The plant is monoecious, that is, it produces separate male and female flowers in the same individual. Male flowers grow at the end of large (~90 cm long) inflorescences, while the female flowers are at the base. Anthesis (the stage at which a flower is open and functional) is asynchronous: male flowers open first, releasing pollen and scent for 7 to 10 days. These flowers then shrivel and fall off. In about two weeks, it’s the female flowers’ turn; they are open for 10 to 15 days. Plants also bloom asynchronously, so at any given time of the year there are licuri flowers.

*Licuri* inflorescences © Drumond, 2007.

These flowery details may seem like too much information, but they are important for understanding the plant’s relationship with one of its most important flower visitors, the weevil Anchylorhynchus trapezicollis.

Like the overwhelming majority of the ~83.000 known species of weevil (family Curculionidae), A. trapezicollis feeds on plant tissues. Attracted by the scent of male flowers, a beetle uses its big schnozzle (in fact its rostrums, the snout-like projection from the head) to pry flowers open and take their pollen. While feeding, the beetle ends up with pollen grains attached to its body. As male flowers open at different times, there’s isn’t much food to be consumed in one sitting. The beetle is then encouraged to move to another plant, taking with it pollen that will result in cross pollination if the insect lands on a receptive female flower.

An *A. trapezicollis* in action on a *licuri* flower © Bruno de Medeiros, iNaturalist.Lu

After feeding, a female beetle looks for female flowers to lay her eggs between the petals and sepals. The resulting larvae are cannibals: one larva will eat any competitor in the same flower. As they grow older, the little darlings shift their attention to developing fruits, which are aborted and fall off. Because it destroys forming fruits to complete its life cycle, A. trapezicollis is a seed predator. But for the cost of a portion of its fruits, the licuri palm is pollinated. This form of mutualism is known as brood-site pollination or nursery pollination, a trade-off association that has evolved for the yucca and the yucca moth, figs and fig wasps, and several other plant-insect partnerships.

The *licuri*‘s trunk ends in a distinct crown of slightly arched leaves, a feature that inspired its specific epithet *coronata* (crowned) © Kelen P. Soares, *Flora e Funga do Brasil*.

Other weevils and bees also pollinate licuri, but A. trapezicollis seems to be the most important agent (Medeiros et al., 2019). This tight relationship has profound ecological consequences.

It is said that everything from a pig can be used except the oink, but licuri is not far behind in relation to its usefulness to humans. Its apical meristem (palm heart) is edible; the leaves are the source of a high quality wax, building materials, hats, baskets, sleeping mats and other handicrafts; ground-up leaves are fed to livestock in times of food scarcity; the tasty seeds (endosperm or nuts) are eaten raw or roasted, or added to confectionery and local dishes; oil extracted from seeds is used for lighting and the manufacture of soap, perfumes and other products.

The greenish pulp (mesocarp), brown hard shell (endocarp) and the nutritious white nut (kernel) of a *licuri* fruit © B. Phalan, Wikimedia Commons.

Humans are not the only creatures to benefit from licuri: many animals take the wholesome fruits. Among them, the Lear’s macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), an endemic and endangered species, for which licuri nuts represent the bulk of its nutrition.

Lear’s macaws, big fans of *licuri* nuts © João Quental, Wikimedia Commons.

There you have it: a palm tree of unordinary value, from people’s welfare and economy to endangered macaws and wildlife in general, is greatly dependent on pollination provided by unassuming weevils. And this is not an isolated case. More than 200 palm species (family Arecaceae) are pollinated by weevils, and so are many other plants from different lineages (Haran et al., 2023). The ‘million dollar weevil’ (Elaeidobius kamerunicus) illustrates well the relevance of these insects as pollinators. This beetle was introduced from Africa to Asia to help improve pollination of cultivated African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), resulting in considerable increase in yields.

When we think of pollinators, bees, flies and moths are most likely to come to mind, as they contribute to the reproduction of crops and wildflowers familiar to us. Adding weevils to this select club may sound peculiar: after all, many weevils are pests capable of inflicting enormous damage on cultivated plants, trees and stored products (you may have had your pantry invaded by weevils). But that would be a parochial view. For millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions, palm trees are more than props in holiday brochures: they are crucial for wildlife food chains, human nutrition, building materials and commodities such as medicines, industrial products and fibre. A great deal of these benefits depends on a range of poorly known, frequently dismissed and often vilified weevils.

Six species of weevil known to be involved in brood-site pollination © Haran *et al.,* 2023.

References

Drumond, M.A. 2007. Documentos, 199. Embrapa Semi-Árido.

Haran, J. et al. 2023. Most diverse, most neglected: weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) are ubiquitous specialized brood-site pollinators of tropical flora. Peer Community Journal 3:e49.

Medeiros, B.A.S. et al. 2019. Flower visitors of the licuri palm (Syagrus coronata): brood pollinators coexist with a diverse community of antagonists and mutualists. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 126: 666-687.

Come together

Posted on Jan 26, 2026 by scottishpollinators

Back in 1969 The Beatles released ‘Come together’. It was a popular song that has stood the test of time, and would be covered by the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Ike and Tina Turner. There is little doubt that the song benefitted from a title that was both succinct and energising. That neat song title could apply to Perth and Kinross’ drive to create nature-friendly networks. We often speak about the value of partnership working when it comes to transforming greenspaces and it is when people ‘come together’ that we see some of the best results for pollinators.

Having the correct machinery to manage sites for pollinators is vital too. That’s why Perth and Kinross Council have adeptly used Nature Restoration Funding to keep on top of their greenspace management.

One of their earliest purchases was non-motorised machinery with interchangeable flail and scythe attachments. This comes into its own when managing green corridors for both people and nature. For example, the core path network often requires unobtrusive light management to balance the needs of access with biodiversity care. It’s a source of some pride that the machinery is available to path groups and those grappling with the demands of meadow management.

From carrying some novelty appeal the machinery is now an integral part of the Council’s approach to effective meadow management and implementing relaxed mowing regimes. It’s all part of the jigsaw to enact wider plans to restore and enhance grassland areas which will be appealing to both nature and local communities.

It’s the good fortune of those who have a pollinator-friendly agenda that some of the projects pursued in recent years are highly visible and beneficial.

Who doesn’t love a swathe of brilliant white snowdrops for example? These ever popular flowers give pollinators early food and the council has helped community groups establish 17 sites across Perthshire as part of the Tayside Green Graveyard initiative to plant in local graveyards to benefit early emerging bumblebees.

Anyone who has followed Kilchoan-based wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin’s recent programmes will know of the value of cemeteries for wildlife. In his Hidden Wild Isles programme he popped down to London to show how the famous Highgate Cemetery has developed into something of a wildlife haven. That potential has been tapped into in Scotland too. In Perth and Kinross work has taken place at four closed cemeteries to create new areas for pollinators. At Fonab Cemetery, on the southern fringes of Pitlochry, the planting has been imaginative and climbers like honeysuckle are scrambling along boundary fencing whilst spring bulbs enhance seasonal diversity.

Working with schools can be particularly rewarding. Projects such as the Breadalbane Academy playground project, where flowering shrubs have been planted around play areas, have a real impact. Likewise, the Robert Douglas Memorial School brought wildflowers into their grounds in a push to provide for pollinators. In the Carse of Gowrie, St Madoes Primary School embarked on a bold wild orchard project which saw 85 native trees planted.

There are many other school grounds benefiting from this approach.

Luncarty Primary has developed an outdoor space to create opportunities for wildlife and to encourage biodiversity. They were certainly ambitious in Luncarty. They created a pond with aquatic planting, planted two vast wildflower beds, made a willow tunnel for exploration, crafted a bee-bank and planted a hedgerow around the perimeter of the playground area. Finally, as if that were not enough, the project creates pollinator-friendly, flower-rich habitats that contribute to Buglife’s B-Line network.

It isn’t just the young who are benefitting from new projects. A sheltered housing complex in Bridgend, Perth was one of the first to have been transformed through wildlife-friendly planting that provides food for birds and pollinators throughout the year. These visitors in turn brighten up the days of the residents. Another dozen care homes and days care centres are receiving the same treatment this autumn.

Perhaps not the most obvious benefit for pollinators are works which are primarily intended to help amphibians in the Perth and Kinross area. The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership, together with TayARG (the Tayside Amphibian & Reptile Group) helped clear five SuDS ponds to create areas of open water and improve conditions for toads, frogs and newts. This had a spin-off benefit for pollinators as the areas around the ponds were often left sporting patches of native wildflowers. This work was just the start. Projects in Blairgowrie, Perth, Murthly, and Abernethy purposely set out to plant native pond-edge wildflowers to benefit Guidpollinators and other invertebrates.

The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership is deservedly well respected. Their Biodiversity Villages and Towns project is popular and includes locations as diverse as Blairgowrie, Auchterarder, Kinross, Guildtown, Wolfhill, Stanley, Crook of Devon and Abernethy – to name but a handful. That sense of community good invariably filters down into actions in private gardens too.

Sometimes it is connecting with other projects that reaps the largest rewards. This is what happened when Perth and Kinross Council complemented the work being carried out at the Rewilding Denmarkfield project near Redgorton with significant nearby wildflower meadow creation. The council restored a three-hectare Species Rich Grassland corridor along the northern boundary of the rewilding site (which sits on what was once barley fields), and in doing so created a link to a popular pollinator-friendly community orchard.

Local communities are often very receptive to improving sites for pollinators in this fashion. The Errol Village Nature Restoration Project has embraced planting native trees and sowing wildflowers to enhance biodiversity in two areas of land on either side of their village. The intention is also to create green corridors which can act as stepping stones to allow wildlife to move more freely through Errol. Similar work at Comrie Croft has seen meadow habitats improved, whilst the Kinross Rain Gardens trail has, despite some setbacks, cemented the idea of connectivity and pollinator-friendly planting around Kinross.

Working with Buglife Scotland has proved rewarding for Perth and Kinross Council. The Strathmore B-Lines project now has the benefit of a 10-year management agreement, whilst the new Carse of Gowrie Orchards B-Line is just at the start of its exciting journey. This new project will be supporting landowners and communities to restore and enhance up to 10 hectares of habitat for insect pollinators in orchards across the Carse.

At times if feels a little like a ‘long and winding road’ to fulfil all of our pollinator-friendly ambitions. But we are clearly making progress, and the many groups making a positive impact demonstrate vividly what we can achieve when we ‘come together’.

Further reading

Interactive map showing sites showing projects and groups contributing to environmental improvements in Perth and Kinross – Community Projects and Groups Map

Find out more about the Errol Nature Restoration project.

Find out more about the Denmarkfield rewilding project.

Discover what the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership is doing to help nature.

Plantlife’s introduction to meadow management tools.

Image credits: Image 1 (hoverfly) Catherine Lloyd, Image 2 (bee hotel post) Caroline Boyle, Image 3 (Bees on flowers at Fossoway Beds) Amanda James, Image 4 (Fossoways Primary School flower bed) Amanda James, Image 5 (magnification post) Caroline Boyle.

Parting ways

Posted on Jan 19, 2026 by scottishpollinators

By Athayde Tonhasca

As superlatives go, it would be difficult to beat the South African Platland Baobab. It’s 10.6-m diameter trunk was large enough to accommodate a bar inside its hollow trunk. The massive tree, now deceased, was also old – it had been on this Earth for about a millennia.

There aren’t many places where you can order a pint inside a tree like the Platland or Sunland Baobab © South African Tourism, Wikimedia Commons.

Leaving aside its connection to thirsty pilgrims, the Platland Baobab was not exceptional: other specimens belonging to the same African baobab (Adansonia digitata) species are similarly big and old. The African baobab’s size, age and the somewhat bizarre shape (the ‘upside-down tree’) inspired many legends and superstitions. Beyond the mythical, baobabs have practical uses to some rural communities in parts of Africa: fruits and leaves are rich in vitamin C, the bark can be used for making rope, and tree hollows serve as water reservoirs. Wildlife also feed on baobab’s parts, sometimes in excess: elephants eat baobab bark during the dry season, resulting in significant tree mortality when elephant numbers are high.

One African titan squaring up to another © Ferdinand Reus, Wikimedia Commons.

Like the vast majority of flowering plants, the African baobab is hermaphrodite; its flowers have male and female reproductive organs. And like most hermaphrodite plants, baobab flowers are self-incompatible; they can’t fertilise themselves. Therefore, pollinators have to come to their reproductive aid. That’s particularly important for African baobabs, which often grow in isolation, with an average of 2 trees/ha.

When researchers started investigating baobab reproduction in West and East Africa in the 1930s and 40s, bats were soon singled out as their likely pollinating agents. It made sense: the white, large (up to 200 mm in diameter) pendulous flowers open at night and release a musty smell, all signs of chiropterophily, or pollination by bats. But things are a bit more complex. Flowers in west and east Africa are mostly visited by the straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) and the smaller Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), respectively. However in southern Africa, baobab flowers have no appeal to bats, but do attract hawk-moths. These regional differences are linked to floral features such as shape, scent and nectar volume. In west Africa, flowers are larger, have longer peduncles, longer styles and more nectar than flowers in east and southern Africa. East African flowers are smaller and sturdier, with less nectar but enough to encourage visits by the Egyptian fruit bat. Flowers in southern Africa are smaller still and produce nectar in volumes just enough for moths (Venter et al., 2025). And while baobabs flowers from the three regions release bat-attracting sulphur compounds, southern African flowers also produce β-caryophyllene, a chemical known to lure moths (Karimi et al., 2021).

A: a straw-coloured fruit bat in west Africa feeding on a baobab flower while a hawk-moth thieves, that is, it takes nectar but does not pollinate. B: an Egyptian fruit bat in east Africa landing briefly to lick nectar. C: a long-tongued and a short-tongued hawk-moths feeding in southern Africa © Venter *et al*., 2025.

The African baobab is by no means unique; many other species comprise populations of diversified floral traits that suit particular pollinators and local environmental conditions. Ecologists refer to each of these populations as pollination ecotypes, species complexes, geographical races or ecological races. Pollination ecotypes have one possible outcome of exceptional importance: given enough time, they may drift further apart in their morphological and physiological traits to the point of becoming reproductively incompatible with each other.

Examples of pollination ecotypes. Long-spurred *Platanthera bifolia* pollinated by the hawk-moth *Sphinx ligustri* (a) and a shorter-spurred form pollinated by the hawk-moth *Hyloicus pinastri* (b); short-tubed *Gladiolus longicollis* pollinated by hawk-moths with short probosces (c) and a long-tubed form pollinated by hawk-moths with long probosces (d). © Johnson, 2025.

t’s worth emphasising the meaning of such an outcome. Different forms – or morphs – in each ecotype associated with their own pollinators will eventually become different species, a process that has become widely acknowledged (Johnson, 2025). Speciation via ecotypes supports Darwin’s view that species and infraspecies taxa (varieties, subspecies, forms, morphs, etc.) represent a continuum: In short, we shall have to treat species in the same manner as those naturalists treat genera, who admit that genera are merely artificial combinations made for convenience. This may not be a cheering prospect; but we shall at least be freed from the vain search for the undiscovered and undiscoverable essence of the term species (Darwin, 1859). Such a continuum implies that speciation is much more common and frequent than one may expect (Mallet, 2008).

The roles of insect pollinators as safeguards of biodiversity, crop production and human health are well known and celebrated. But the tale of African baobab pollination ecotypes reminds us of another fundamental aspect: pollinators greatly contribute to the radiation and diversification of angiosperms, the largest and most diverse group in the plant kingdom and largely responsible for the functioning of all terrestrial ecosystems. It’s a hefty responsibility upon tiny shoulders.

Accumulated diversification of insect families through time. Dotted lines indicate the Permian–Triassic (P–T), Triassic–Jurassic (T–J), and the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) mass extinctions © Peris & Condamine, 2024.

References

Darwin, C.R. 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. John Murray.

Johnson, S.D. 2025. Pollination ecotypes and the origin of plant species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 292: 20242787.

Karimi, N. et al. 2021. Evidence for hawkmoth pollination in the chiropterophilous African baobab (Adansonia digitata). Biotropica 54: 10.1111/btp.13033.

Mallet, J. 2008. Hybridization, ecological races and the nature of species: Empirical evidence for the ease of speciation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 363: 2971-2986.

Peris, D. & Condamine, F.L. 2024. The angiosperm radiation played a dual role in the diversification of insects and insect pollinators. Nature Communications 15: 552.

Venter, S.M. et al. 2025. Regional flower visitor assemblages and divergence of floral traits of the baobab Adansonia digitata (Malvaceae) across Africa. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society boaf085.

Standing the test of time

Posted on Jan 12, 2026 by scottishpollinators

COP30 in Brazil was in the news recently. Inevitably the latest such gathering pushed our own Glasgow COP26 further into the memory banks. It seems an age ago that delegates on Clydeside were being welcomed, and encouraged to enjoy the city’s many greenspaces such as Kelvingrove Park, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow Green, and Queen’s Park. Those are big imposing greenspaces, but some busy delegates opted instead for some of the city’s smaller parks.

One of those sites wasn’t too far from the host SEC Centre itself. Nestled close to the banks of the Rivers Clyde and Kelvin lies Yorkhill Park, and here there is very much a biodiversity focus. This is the park that lends its name to the community group ‘Yorkhill Green Spaces’ who use this space, along with nearby Overnewton and Cherry Parks, to make a difference for urban nature and pollinators in particular.

They do this rather well. Yorkhill Green Spaces earned a Green Flag Award and a level-5 Outstanding Certificate of Distinction from Keep Scotland Beautiful for improvements to green spaces which benefit the local community and wildlife. Some of the headline actions behind that award included the planting of great swathes of pollinator-friendly bulbs. Picture this: You are in the heart of Glasgow and you know of a park you can visit that boasts Snowdrops, Native Bluebells, Narcissus, Grape Hyacinths, Crocuses, Alliums, Snake’s-Head Fritillaries, and Wood Anemones. That’s a pull for visitors and a banquet for pollinators.

It isn’t just bulbs that get attention from Yorkhill Green Spaces. Their grassland management includes caring for a wildflower meadow and carefully following a regime of cut-and-lift to reduce nutrient levels (and some of that cutting is carried out using a scythe). As an add on Yellow Rattle seed is gathered and introduced to make further advances.

Native wildflower seeds were also sown in Yorkhill (which at 5 hectares compared to Kelvingrove’s 34 hectares is park you can really get to know well). Those seeds included Meadow Buttercup, Red Campion, Knapweed, Cuckooflower, Meadow Cranesbill, Lungwort, Feverfew, Scentless Mayweed, Ragwort and Red Clover.

Mind you, to keep the meadow in good fettle they didn’t just rely on seeds having an impact. 800 native wildflower plug plants played a role too, and visitors can now anticipate enjoying the sight of Cowslips, Primroses, Forget-me-Nots, Ramsons, Calendula, Columbine, Borage, Foxgloves, and Ivy-leaved Speedwell.

The value of trees and hedges for pollinators hasn’t been ignored in Yorkhill. The maintenance of 30 flowering native fruit trees and hedging planted along boundaries of the park helps with ambitions for better linear habitat for wildlife and provides a green link to nearby Cherry Park.

Visitors are often surprised to discover that there are now four well-maintained Bog Gardens in Yorkhill Park. Planting here includes Marsh Marigold, Purple Loosestrife, Water Avens, Ragged Robin, and Meadowsweet.

Add to the mix the creation of dead wood log piles after unstable trees were felled, following major storms, and you can see that the group considers all life stages of pollinators. There is no surprise to find that no pesticides, herbicides or peat are used here.

If much of the above is established practice, then you couldn’t say the same of the eye-catching experiment of a ‘chessboard’ feature which was created on an area of broken paving slabs and planted with Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Centaurea, Rudebeckia and heathers.

They like to monitor how their site is faring in Yorkhill. Thus their Biodiversity List is updated on regular basis with new finds, and information about species posted on a popular Facebook page. The current species list (October 2025) stands at 1,504. Taking part in national biodiversity surveys such as the City Nature Challenge, FIT counts for the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, National Bee Week, Insect Week, and the Big Butterfly Count all help to ensure the group can confirm the positive impact their management of the park is having.

Around 10,000 people live in Yorkhill and its immediate surrounds. Keeping locals engaged is crucial to success. Hence regular social media posts are made about wildflowers, species and biodiversity improvements. In addition, posters and photographs are updated on outdoor glazed noticeboards.

It takes a lot of hands to deliver the scope of what we have outline above. From Yorkhill Gala Day to Woodland Trust talks, from a Riverside community event to fortnightly community events, local people are encouraged to get involved and new volunteers sought.

Another COP has come and gone, and retaining a positive outlook doesn’t get any easier. But in Scotland we can take heart that our greenspace ambitions are sound. Yorkhill Green Spaces is the very essence of a successful community group, keen to do their bit for nature and people. It was interesting to look through a box of 1935 maps recently and see Yorkhill Park outlined. Sometimes good small greenspaces do more than we realise; they stand the test of time, generation after generation.

On the road again, goin’ places that I’ve never been

Posted on Jan 5, 2026 by scottishpollinators

By Athayde Tonhasca

Sometime between 1400 and 1200 BC, Yahweh (aka God) decided it was time to nudge the Egyptians to let their captive Israelites go. Yahweh could have tried diplomacy, but in his infinite wisdom, he concluded that “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD”. And there was no better way to let the Pharaoh and his people know who the bigwig was around there than by punishing them with a series of plagues. Of the ten celestial disasters inflicted upon the Egyptians, two involved mosquitoes (or midges) and flies, which probably were also the agents behind another two plagues manifested as infectious diseases of people and livestock. Yahweh understood very well the efficacy of some flies (order Diptera) and pathogens to wreck revenge – after all, he created them.

*The Third Plague of Egypt*, by William de Brailes, circa 1250. Aaron strikes his rod on the ground, transforming dust into gnats (*kinnim* in Hebrew). In the King James version of the Bible, lice are the culprits, but today most scholars accept that *kinnim* should be translated as ‘gnats’ or ‘mosquitoes’ © Walters Art Museum, Wikimedia Commons.

The tales of pestilent flies depicted in the book of Exodus could have been inspired by real events, as pest infestations and epidemics were recurrent in the ancient world. Fly outbreaks are facilitated by these insects’ capability to disperse for long distances and arrive at new locations suddenly and in massive numbers. There are no better examples of these efficient colonisers than hover flies or syrphid flies (family Syrphidae) such as the marmalade (Episyrphus balteatus) and the migrant (Eupeodes corollae) hover flies. Each autumn, they leave Britain and head south to spend the winter in southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Their offspring move northwards in the spring, lay eggs, and the new generation sets out on the cycle again. Researchers have estimated that up to four billion marmalade and migrant hover flies cross the English channel to and from Great Britain every year. This represents 80 tons of biomass. If you are impressed by these figures, you should know that hover flies account for a fraction of insects’ latitudinal migrations known as ‘bioflows’: about 3.5 trillion insects, or 3200 tons of biomass, migrate into southern Britain annually (Wotton et al., 2019). Insect bioflows pour vast amounts of nutrients (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus) and countless prey, predators, parasites and herbivores into ecosystems, but we have only a vague understanding of their impact on food webs and local species.

A female marmalade hover fly, a long distance frequent flier © Guido Gerding, Wikimedia Commons.

These hardy wanderers have another particularity of significant ecological importance: they transport pollen grains.

Most flies have no pollen-collecting structures and have few ‘hairs’ (setae), which are important pollen gatherers. These are negative marks for candidates to the pollinators’ club, but some flies compensate their shortcomings by their massive numbers. Each marmalade and migrant hover fly carries an average of 10 pollen grains from up to three plant species on their journey into Britain. That’s paltry compared to a bee, but altogether, those flies bring in 3 to 8 billion pollen grains on each inward journey.

Pollen importation via flies is a recurrent phenomenon. In Cyprus, warm temperatures and favourable winds bring millions of insect migrants from the Middle East region, more than 100 km to the east. Flies make up nearly 90% of these bioflows, and many of them are loaded with pollen (Hawkes et al., 2022).

A common drone fly (*Eristalis tenax*) (A) and a blow fly (*Calliphora* sp.) (B) with orchid pollinia attached to their heads after a > 100-km sea crossing to Cyprus © Hawkes *et al*., 2022.

Pollen-loaded flies can turn up anywhere the wind takes them, even to specks of dry ground in the middle of nowhere. Over a two-month period, 121 marmalade hover flies reached a North Sea oil rig approximately 200 km from Aberdeen, UK. Over 90% of these flies had pollen attached to them, sometimes from eight plant species. Based on pollen barcoding and wind trajectory modelling, it was estimated that these flies traversed from 265 to 500 km of open water in a single journey, probably from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark (Doyle et al., 2025).

(a) Location of an oil rig visited by hover flies (b), and its aerial view © Doyle *et al*., 2025.

Flies’ long-distance pollen transfers may help connect isolated plant populations, such as in fragmented habitats, but we don’t know much about the ecological implications. However we do know that their contribution can be important. In continental Europe, wild carrot (Daucus carota) depends on a range of insects for pollinators, especially bees. But bees are absent from La Foradada, a 1,6 ha Mediterranean islet about 50 km off the Spanish coast. In this solitary spot of land, D. carota subsp. commutatus relies on the accidental arrival of common drone flies for its pollination (Pérez-Bañón et al., 2007).

La Foradada, devoid of bees and humans, is visited by pollinating drone flies © JavierValencia2005 Wikimedia Commons.

Butterflies, bumble bees, moths and dragonflies are known travellers, but we know much less about migrant flies, which may have significant roles in pollination ecology. We just have to pay more attention to these unpretentious pilgrims.

References

Doyle, T.D. et al. 2025. Long-range pollen transport across the North Sea: Insights from migratory hoverflies landing on a remote oil rig. Journal of Animal Ecology 94: 2267–2281.

Hawkes, W.S.L. et al. 2022. Huge spring migrations of insects from the Middle East to Europe: quantifying the migratory assemblage and ecosystem services. Ecography e06288.

Pérez-Bañón, C. et al., 2007. Pollination in small islands by occasional visitors: The case of Daucus carota subsp. commutatus (Apiaceae) in the Columbretes archipelago, Spain. Plant Ecology 192: 133-151.

Wotton, K.R. et al. 2019. Mass seasonal migrations of hoverflies provide extensive pollination and crop protection services. Current Biology 29: 2167–2173.

Scottish pollinators

Updates on pollinators and pollinator projects from around Scotland

Ringing the changes

Bald and bold

Big ideas in a small state

Witty impostors

Reflections from Rewilding Denmarkfield through 2025

Beneficial saboteurs

Come together

Parting ways

Standing the test of time

On the road again, goin’ places that I’ve never been