Garden Planting research at LASI (Sussex Uni)

[itma]

LASI at Sussex Uni has published its research into pollinator-friendly garden planting.

Before quoting any results, it is important to note that they were looking for garden plants that were useful to the insects during midsummer.
Personally, I think this a "strange choice".
Their waggle dance forage analysis showed that in midsummer their bees deserted the countryside and headed for the parks and gardens of Brighton.
So, I'd have thought that actually garden plants weren't a problem, so much as countryside forage in midsummer. Well, heigh-ho, I'm not the Prof ... !

There isn't yet a working link to the actual paper, but Sussex Uni provides a synopsis at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/?id=21598 of which this snippet includes some of the findings

One key result found by researchers Professor Francis Ratnieks and his PhD student Mihail Gaburzov was that garden flowers attractive to the human eye vary enormously (approx 100-fold) in their attractiveness to insects, meaning that the best plants for bees and other insects are 100 times better than the worst. So it pays to make an informed choice of plants from the thousands available to gardeners.

Bees (87 per cent) and hoverflies (nine per cent) were the most frequent visitors, with butterflies and moths just two per cent and all other insects also two per cent. The researchers observed clear differences in the mix of bee and insect types attracted by different varieties, indicating that careful plant choice can not only help insects in general, but also help a range of insects.

Other findings were:

Some cultivated varieties and non-native flowers – usually seen as ornamental only – can be helpful to wildlife. For example, open dahlias attracted many bees, especially bumblebees, but pom-pom or cactus dahlias attracted few insects, because their highly-bred flowers make it difficult for insects to reach the flowers’ pollen and nectar.
Highly bred varieties of lavender, including those of novel colours, such as white or pink, or hybrid lavenders, proved highly attractive to insects.
Plants that the researchers can recommend to gardeners include lavender, marjoram, open-flowered dahlias, borage, and Bowles Mauve Everlasting Wallflower. Marjoram was probably the best all-rounder, attracting honey bees, bumble bees, other bees, hover flies, and butterflies. Borage was the best for honey bees. Lavender and open-flowered dahlias were very attractive to bumblebees. Bowles mauve was the best for butterflies. But all attracted a range of insects.
The least attractive flowering plant to insects was the pelargonium – a popular garden plant.
The garden perennial plant lamb’s ears (Stachys) was popular with an unusual species of bee, the wool carder bee which, apart from feeding on the flowers, uses the hairs of the plant for nest-building. Male carder bees guard a patch and chase away bees of other species, and other males.

Professor Ratnieks says: “Our trial is by no means exhaustive – we looked at a small selection of the thousands of plants you can find in a typical garden centre. But our study clearly shows that planting pollinator-friendly flowers is a no-cost, win-win solution to help the bees. The plants attractive to bees are just as cheap, easy to grow, and as pretty as those that are less attractive to insects.

 

[alldigging]

Are they just saying that pollinating insects like plants they can pollinate?


The bit about the wool carder bee sounds interesting.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

it is important to note that they were looking for garden plants that were useful to the insects during midsummer.
Personally, I think this a "strange choice".

Well you have to realise that these academics set the parameters to suit getting as much funding as posible to keep them in work and funny tobacco, not what is of use to the world as a study.
But look on the positive side, they could have been using taxpayers money to find out something really useful like why rice crispies go snap crackle aond pop
or why dogs sniff each others' a*seholes

 

[alanf]

"The study was carried out by Professor Francis Ratnieks, director of LASI, and PhD student Mihail Gaburzov, with funding from the Body Shop Foundation."

That may explain some of the choices. I'm not knocking the central message, that if you are planting a leisure garden choose lavender instead of pelargoniums, marjoram instead of pompom dahlias. And it's good to have some research to back up choices. However, it is aimed at those planting the "outdoor room" (as the garden centres sell it) for use at the height of summer which is going to limit the scope.

 

[sharonh]

Interesting stuff,
I sowed a big area of borage, my bees did use it, but bumble bees more so i thought.
Yes the dahlias were covered in honey bees, they love them.
I also sowed Echium 'Blue Bedder' and my bees loved it, will sow them again next year.
When i visit any garden centre ,i look to see what bees are on, then i buy.

I buy all the seeds i need in November, by Spring the poly-tunnel is full of plants to go out for my bees.
Well worth growing your own, and most rewarding to see them using them.

 

[user 6228]

Leeks and parsnips bumbles and honey bees go mad for them

 

[alanf]

Some pictures to go with the message: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2LeTPGo9w"]Quantifying variation among garden plants in attractiveness to bees and other insects - YouTube[/ame]

 

[farbee]

Personally, I think this a "strange choice".
Their waggle dance forage analysis showed that in midsummer their bees deserted the countryside and headed for the parks and gardens of Brighton.
So, I'd have thought that actually garden plants weren't a problem, so much as countryside forage in midsummer. Well, heigh-ho, I'm not the Prof ... !

But it is of interest to know why and what they are attracted to in gardens mid summer.

You cannot really do it the other way round anyway. How do you investigate what they don't forage in the countryside in midsummer (as they don't go there). Pretty much impossible so better to something that adds to our knowledge base.

 

[farbee]

Well you have to realise that these academics set the parameters to suit getting as much funding as posible to keep them in work and funny tobacco, not what is of use to the world as a study.
But look on the positive side, they could have been using taxpayers money to find out something really useful like why rice crispies go snap crackle aond pop
or why dogs sniff each others' a*seholes

Those are the type of comments that come about from ignorance in my opinion. To belittle research in this way is ridiculous.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Those are the type of comments that come about from ignorance in my opinion. To belittle research in this way is ridiculous.

Is it? you should learn to read between the lines a bit more - it's amazing what you'll find. But then again I've had to do this most of my working life which may make me a tad cynical not ignorant

 

[MuswellMetro]

Is it? you should learn to read between the lines a bit more - it's amazing what you'll find. But then again I've had to do this most of my working life which may make me a tad cynical not ignorant

I think they have discovered very little extra as to what is already published in Plans for Bees by Howes (2nd edition)

And that's not from reading the paper but having been to two days of worskhops on the project as LASI in 2012 and 2013

 

[Goran]

I think everything is relative.. I also read some literature about plants and saw the seeds.. For example, Echium vulgare ( also read some bad things of its nectar..) my bees didn't attend, this year I saw few bees on it.. But in that time they find more quality forage than it. Also I have aronia, when it was small bush also bees got no interest in it, when it grow with lot of flowers bees were all over it..
I think the quality of nectar of plant species and quantity in area ( number of plants) mostly determine what bees will choose to forage.
What I want to say I try to observe what bees attend in area, also with trying some new plants to see.. It can be fun also, I have determined over 200 plant species on our property, many still didn't..

 

[Summerslease]

It must have been such a pleasure to carry out this research- I'm really jealous.
My observations concur with Marjoram being popular with all types of insects. I have a tall flowering variety which is number 1 in my garden. Borage is close behind. I collect the seed from mine and sow it on nearby waste ground in the autumn. It's a beautiful flower and I get a little nectar as a reward.

Double or 'plena' varieties of plants are bred such that the parts which would normally develop into the anthers and stigma often convert into extra petals so the flower is bigger and more beautiful to us but sterile and gives no pollen or nectar.

I think the information on Lambs Ears and the purple perennial wallflower is interesting. I will get a plant of each for next year.

 

[Dishmop]

Honey bees or bumbles?

My bees spend very little if any time looking at whats in my garden.

They leave the hive and fly off into tthe distance........ perhaps they might go to somebody else's garden but then based on that, other people's bees should come and look at my garden.

99.9% of the bees that look at my flowers are bumbles.

 

[alldigging]

Honey bees or bumbles?

My bees spend very little if any time looking at whats in my garden.

I grew phacelia, borage and poached egg plants and nasturtians this year. For the bees - I gave away plants as well as having some on my own plot and garden. The bees were all over them all - lots of honeys on the phacelia and poached egg plants.
I've saved seed as well as spread some about so should have plenty more next year to ensure more plants in the neighbourhood.

 

[madasafish]

I think they have discovered very little extra as to what is already published in Plans for Bees by Howes (2nd edition)

And that's not from reading the paper but having been to two days of worskhops on the project as LASI in 2012 and 2013

I have lots of Bowles Mauve Everlasting Wallflower. Bees like it yes... but I would hardly say it is as popular as pink oriental poppies.. or phacelia...