All-Ireland Pollinator Plan - July 2025

Topics: Environment / Climate

Sources: All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

Share this post

All-Ireland Pollinator Plan - July 2025

Newsletter: July 2025

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is a framework bringing together different sectors across the island of Ireland to create a landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive. Its implementation is coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

To spot this month: keep an eye out for the Wool Carder Bee

This large solitary bee is very distinctive and can be spotted in gardens, especially in the South-East. It was first recorded in Ireland in 2015. Both males and females have a pattern of yellow markings down the sides of the abdomen, head and legs.

Submit your solitary bee sightings

To do this month: make sure your annual bedding plants include some pollinator-friendly options

At this time of year, the shops are full of traditional annual bedding (Begonia, Petunia, Geranium). Just bear in mind, that while these plants are very colourful, they are not good sources of pollen and nectar for bees and other insects. The good news is that there are a few options (below) that you can mix in that are excellent sources of food for pollinators.

Thanks for submitting your ideas and suggestions for the next All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026-2030

The next version of the AIPP is in development. We want it to be the most ambitious Plan yet. The public consultation form closed on the 30th June, having received just over 100 submissions. Huge thanks to all those who sent us ideas. They will all be considered as the next Plan is developed across the rest of this year.

Wild Bee Festival 2025

We had an amazing weekend in Abbeyleix for the Wild Bee Festival on the 21st and 22nd June. It was a joy to explore this beautiful town and learn about the many actions being taken to help pollinators, from the thriving community garden, to orchards and hedgerows.

But meadows were the stars of the show, with several examples of short and long-flowering meadows buzzing with life and home to precious native wildflowers like orchids. We even saw examples of grass cutting equipment for meadows of different sizes, from traditional scythes to large scale machinery.

A huge thank you to Abbeyleix Tidy Towns, particularly Fiona and Mark, for hosting this year's festival and showing us around the town and the wonderful habitats of Abbeyleix Bog. And to all our speakers, including Lisa Doyle, Laois County Council Biodiversity Officer, and Paula Kearney, Galway City Council Biodiversity Officer.

Find out more about this year’s festival

Bringing rare pollinators back from the brink

Within the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, we work with partners to publish evidence-based guideline documents on protecting some of our most endangered pollinators.

Specific guidelines are now available for five species: the Large Carder Bee (pictured below), Great Yellow Bumblebee, Northern Colletes, Shrill Carder Bee, and the Forester Moth. All these pollinators are active in July, so find out if they occur in your area and send in your sightings. Better yet, find out how you can manage the landscape to help them.

These pollinators are particularly vulnerable, but there are plenty of examples of communities who have come together to protect them. Skerries in Dublin have done fantastic work to help the Large Carder Bee, with the bee now found in many parts of the town. In Mayo, communities and farmers have transformed parts of the Mullet Peninsula to provide food and shelter for the Great Yellow Bumblebee.

Being aware of what these pollinators need and managing the landscape accordingly is the best way to bring them back from the brink, so take a look at our guidelines and find out how you can help. Photo: Large Carder Bee.

Helping endangered pollinators

Help Them Fly July!

As summer goes on, a new crop of wildflowers starts to emerge in our meadows. Hold off mowing and keep an eye out for plants like Self-heal and Birds-foot Trefoil, which provide a vital source of nectar and pollen at this time of year. If the grass gets too tall for you to manage at any stage and you are forced to cut, mow with the blades raised high to spare the flowers beneath. Share your #HelpThemFlyJuly meadow with us on social media!

Summer idea - create some Clover swatches

Following on from the above, this lovely idea was sent to us from St Enda’s Park in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Within this OPW site, they have created Clover swatches, with these panels allowed to grow near the coffee shop where there is a lot of footfall. They are used to create awareness amongst the public of pollinators in the park.

The Clover swatches are on the St Enda’s bumblebee monitoring scheme walk, and they have a sign nearby to encourage members of the public to download the FIT Count app and take part. Many thanks to St Enda’s Park for sharing this with us. Photo: Eddie Hill

Funding opportunity for Youth pollinator projects

The EU currently has an open funding call. It is an EU Fund for Youth Action on Pollinators. There are two categories - one for organisations and a second for individuals. Please pass onto anyone you think might be interested in applying. You can find more details on the IUCN Grants Portal (below).

Grants Portal

Help us track expansion of the Tree Bumblebee

This bee arrived in Ireland in 2017, when it was first spotted in Dublin City. Soon after, it was also spotted in Belfast. You can see the current distribution below (based on records submitted until 31st March 2025). It is a very distinctive bumblebee with an all-ginger thorax and a white tail. If you see it, please take a photo, and submit the record to us so that we can track its movement across the island. Photo: Maja Ilic.

In good news, it did put in a special appearance at our recent Wild Bee Festival in Abbeyleix! This was the first time it has been recorded in Co. Laois.

Submit your bumblebee sightings

Can you help by carrying out a 10-minute Flower-Insect Timed Count (FIT Count)

FIT Counts are an important way that you can help us monitor pollinators. Download the free FIT Count App, watch a 50x50cm patch of flowers for 10 minutes and count how many insects visit. You can carry out a FIT Count anywhere, and on any flower, but where you can, please use one of our 15 target flowers. In July, its especially useful to carry out FIT Counts on Bramble, Hogweed or Ragwort.

In 2024, 784 validated FIT Counts were submitted by 135 different volunteers. The average number of insects per FIT Count was 7. Why not try one where you are to see how your site compares.