Save the pit bumblebee! Notzinger flower meadow blooms for bees

Save the pit bumblebee! Notzinger flower meadow blooms for bees

The Erding district group of BUND Nature Conservation recently published interesting monitoring results from the Notzinger flower meadow. This flower-rich area is not only a real paradise for numerous native plants, but also a valuable habitat for a variety of insect species, including many wild bees and bumblebees. The focus is particularly on endangered species such as the pit bumblebee (Bombus subterranea), which finds optimal conditions here. This type of bumblebee requires open meadows and builds its nests up to two meters deep underground. In addition, the colorful bumblebee (Bombus sylvarum), which is on the early warning list and has established itself in these habitats, was also detected. According to an article on Merkur, monitoring shows a high diversity of insects in the meadow, which has been leased by BUND Nature Conservation for renaturation since 2019. It is only mowed twice a year, which benefits biodiversity.

What makes the flower meadow so special? The scientists at the Technical University of Munich are very pleased with the study results. In the summer of 2022, an impressive 44 flowering plants and grasses as well as 14 species of butterflies and 28 species of wild bees were mapped here. This high diversity of wild bees is not only made up of common bumblebee species such as rock bumblebees, grass bumblebees, ground bumblebees and field bumblebees, but also includes rarer representatives. This is a sign that the meadow and therefore the insects are doing well.

What is the Colorful Bumblebee?

The colorful bumblebee is not only a visual delight with its striking black cross band on the top of the chest and the orange-red colored end of the body, but also an exciting part of the ecosystem. This bumblebee has now established itself as “wild bee of the month”. Already in early spring, more precisely from the end of April, the queens fly and look for nesting sites and nectar sources. Their habitats range from meadows to orchards to the edges of fields. These hardy bumblebees have experienced a significant decline in their populations in recent decades, primarily due to habitat loss and frequent mowing of meadows.

It is therefore all the more important to promote and protect flower meadows like those in Notzing. The decline in colorful bumblebees can be curbed through appropriate landscape management measures. One recommendation is to support extensive farming and to preserve flower-rich areas. In this way, not only can the population of the colorful bumblebee be stabilized, but the diversity of the local flora and fauna can also be promoted. On the websites Germany is humming and we do something for bees Interested citizens can find helpful tips on bee-friendly gardening.

The importance of wild bees

There are almost 600 species of wild bees in Germany, which, together with many other pollinators such as flies, wasps and butterflies, play a key role in our ecosystem. They make a crucial contribution to the pollination of many plant species and thus to ensuring nutrition and biological diversity. The difference to honey bees is that 90% of wild bees are solitary when it comes to their life cycle and nesting. For example, the smallest wild bees are found measuring less than 2 mm, while the largest, such as the Wallace giant bee, can reach up to 39 mm.

With harmonious coexistence in habitats, not only can biodiversity be preserved, but also valuable enrichment for our nature can be achieved. Projects like the Notzinger Blumenwiese show how important it is to work to protect and renaturalize our insect world. Through targeted care and support, we can help preserve these fascinating animals and their habitats.