All-Ireland Pollinator Plan - October 2026

Topics: Environment / Climate

Sources: All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

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All-Ireland Pollinator Plan - October 2026

Newsletter: October 2026

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. It is managed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

To spot this month: keep an eye out for one of our newest bees

The Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) is one of our most recent bee arrivals. It was first spotted at the Raven Nature Reserve (Wexford) in October 2021. It’s a solitary bee with an autumn flight period, to match the flowering of its favourite plant - Ivy. It nests in south facing banks of light soil. Within the National Biodiversity Data Centre, we've been keeping an eye on its spread each year.

The Ivy Bee is quite large and has very distinctive bands of white on the abdomen. To make it a little easier, most of our solitary bees have completed their life cycles now, although there will still be hoverflies, wasps and honey bees on the wing. The Ivy Bee is likely to be around from mid-September until mid-October. Particularly check in areas along the east and south coasts. Submit your record if you think you’ve spotted this bee, and please attach a photograph if you can.

Until very recently, the furthest west the Ivy Bee had been spotted was New Ross, but last month it was found in a new and surprising location! Find out more further down this newsletter.

Submit your solitary bee sightings

To do this month: grow native trees from seed

Now is the perfect time to collect and plant seeds from our native trees. Good seeds to plant are Rowan (pictured), Hawthorn and Elder berries. The flowers from these native trees are a valuable food source for our pollinators in the spring.

Collecting and growing seeds from healthy trees in Ireland is the best way to ensure that local trees can flourish, and gaps are restored with native species. While it doesn’t directly support pollinators, Oak is an incredibly important tree for biodiversity. A great action just now is to pick up some acorns if you’re out on a walk and find somewhere suitable to plant them locally.

When you're planting trees remember the three golden rules: right tree (native and of Irish and local provenance if possible); right place (avoid habitats that are already valuable for biodiversity); and right space (think about what will happen to your tree in the future and choose a spot where it will last a long time). Find out more in our short guide 'How to plant trees for pollinators'.

Blog: Growing native trees from seed

How to plant trees for pollinators

A new bee for Clare!

A new bee has arrived in Clare! Citizen scientist Jim Oldroyd was on a family walk when he spotted the Ivy Bee, a type of solitary bee, in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare on the 26th September.

Citizen scientist Jim Oldroyd was on a family walk when he spotted the Ivy Bee, a type of solitary bee, in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare on the 26th September:

"Having an interest in the natural world, I’m always on the lookout for something interesting. The first thing that drew my attention was the noise the bees were making digging burrows. The earth was shooting out like a miniature volcano! When I saw the bee, I knew I was looking at something unusual, and I was delighted when I got confirmation it was the Ivy Bee."

The Ivy Bee was first recorded in Ireland in 2021. Until Jim’s sighting, the most westerly record of the Ivy Bee in Ireland was from New Ross, Co. Wexford, making it a first for Clare and for the West!

Find out more about Jim's discovery, and how to send in your own sightings of the Ivy Bee below. (Photo: Jim Oldroyd).

Guest blog: Creating nesting habitat for solitary bees

How can we create better nesting habitat for solitary bees? In this latest guest blog, Colm O’Leary, a PhD researcher at University College Dublin, tells us about his research.

"Providing artificial nesting habitats, such as bee ‘hotels’ and areas of exposed soil, are increasingly used to support solitary bees. However, simply providing these features does not guarantee that bees will use them. We still know much less about the nesting requirements of solitary bees than we do about their needs for flowers, including how nesting habitats should be created and where they should be located.

As part of a collaborative research project between Teagasc and University College Dublin, we investigated the nesting requirements of below ground and above ground nesting solitary bees, and then considered how this information could be used to improve conservation schemes on Irish farmland. We reviewed existing research, studied areas already being managed for ground-nesting bees, experimentally created patches of bare soil for bees to nest in, and tested how the positioning and design of bee hotels influenced their use." Read Colm's full blog and discover the results of his research below.

Guest blog: Creating solitary bee nesting habitat

Thank you for sending in FIT Counts in 2026!

We would like to express our sincerest thanks to everyone who submitted Flower-Insect-Timed Counts (FIT Counts) during 2026. Your continued efforts and support will help assess changes in the number of flower visiting insects. If you have any outstanding FIT Counts to submit, you can submit them using the app or if you prefer not to use the app you can submit your records using the link below.

The FIT Counts will start again on the 1^st of April 2027. If you wish to get involved or learn more about the scheme please visit the homepage using the link below.