News from Biodiversity Ireland
February 2025

This monthly newsletter provides an update on some of the work of the National Biodiversity Data Centre and highlights upcoming events. 

Upcoming Biodiversity Training Events

Are you looking ahead to spring already? Do you want to start gardening for biodiversity in 2025?

On the 5th March, the National Biodiversity Data Centre, in collaboration with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, will be hosting a free webinar, where we will help you get started on taking action for pollinators & biodiversity. Gardens of all shapes & sizes welcome, from mini meadows to blooming balconies. Most actions are free, and some might even save you money! No experience needed.

Please note that if you want to join the webinar from a mobile device, you will need the Microsoft Teams app. However, you do not need to register or have an account to attend.

Irish Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

The National Pollinator Monitoring Scheme monitors populations of bees, hoverflies and butterflies across a fixed network of sites throughout Ireland. The information collected will help us learn more about pollinator population trends, distribution and their floral resources. Surveys involve visiting a site once a month from April to August. The monitoring scheme is jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

We are currently looking for surveyors who could monitor a site in Co. Cavan, Co. Donegal, Co. Kildare, Co. Meath, Co. Offaly, Co. Roscommon and Co. Waterford. Some experience with identifying bees or/and butterflies and a decent level of fitness is required. 

National Farmer Moth Monitoring Programme 

The National Biodiversity Data Centre is rolling out a new citizen science programme for farmers that involves surveying moths on their farms. It is anticipated that this scheme will provide valuable information about our pollinating insects.

Participants will use simple battery-powered light traps to attract moths at night, with all the moths being identified and counted the following morning before being released. However, supply of the crucial moth traps has proved a problem. To fill this gap, we have teamed up with the Men’s Shed Association to assist in making the traps for the project from scratch. The traps are straightforward in design, but each one requires the assembly of the electronic items to run the LED light array. This requires technical know-how and electronic expertise, all provided by the Blarney Men’s Shed. In the image below we can see Jack, Andy and the two Jim’s are getting started on the next batch of moth trap circuits. Thank you to the Blarney Men's Shed for lending their time and knowledge, as well as, all farmers who have signed up to the scheme to date.

Invasive Species New Videos: Check Clean Dry!

Invasive species from all over the world have been introduced to Irish waters and impact our freshwater environment. Aquatic invasive species can outcompete native species, spread disease and can block waterways and riverbanks, interfere with fishing, damage boats increasing maintenance costs and make navigating in boats, canoes and kayaks difficult.  Water users may unknowingly be helping to spread invasive species from one water body to another in equipment, shoes and clothing.

This month we are highlighting the importance of aquatic biosecurity measures to prevent the further spread of these species. Check out our new videos which encourage all water uses to adhere to the Check Clean Dry protocol. By following these simple steps, you can help protect biodiversity and the sport you love.
 

All- Ireland Pollinator Plan Business Supporters: 2024 Annual Review

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is delighted to publish ‘All-Ireland Pollinator Plan: Annual Review Business Supporters 2024’.

All Business Supporters to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan were asked to submit a mandatory 300-word report, this year via Microsoft Forms, and add their evidence-based actions to the ‘Actions for Pollinators’ online map. 338 businesses submitted their actions for pollinators in 2024 and are featured in this report.

We are thrilled with the evidence-based actions delivered by businesses this year. As ever, there is lots more to do. Those who did not respond have been removed from the list and are welcome to re-engage at any point. A huge thank you to those businesses who delivered evidence-based actions to support pollinators-biodiversity.

Ladybird Atlas 2025 Project

The Ladybird Atlas 2025 project has had another successful year of data collection. In 2024, 2,974 records were added to the Ladybirds of Ireland Dataset. Given below is an update on progress in various sections of the Ladybird Atlas 2025 project.

Data Validation for the project is completed on a monthly basis and is up to date for this season, with data from November uploaded to Biodiversity Maps. Currently, the Ladybirds of Ireland dataset has 18,597 records across 34 species. The amount of species and number of records increased well in early 2024, when we brought across records for any ladybird species not currently in the Ladybirds of Ireland dataset. This also included the “inconspicuous” ladybird species, which are validated and added to the dataset on a quarterly basis. Cleaning of the dataset is taking place on a continuous basis.