Backyard Bees: Private Green Spaces and Pollinator Diversity in Cities

Posted byJoss CarrPosted inBlog, entoLIVE BlogTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Private green spaces, such as gardens and allotments, have an important role in supporting pollinator diversity within cities. This webinar explores the environmental factors that shape pollinator communities in these spaces, including the influence of both native and non-native plants. We will also examine whether gardens and allotments differ in their ability to provide resources for pollinators and identify which plant species are most frequently visited. This research aims to highlight the importance of private green spaces for sustaining pollinators in urban environments and inform strategies to make cities more biodiversity-friendly.

Q&A with Emma Plant

Emma Plant is a current PhD student at the University of Glasgow and part of the GALLANT project, which seeks climate-resilient solutions for sustainable cities. Her research focuses on the role of urban green spaces in supporting biodiversity, exploring how these habitats provide homes for different species across Glasgow. Emma previously studied Zoology (BSc) and Ecology & Environmental Biology (MSc) at the University of Glasgow. Inspired by the increased awareness of local nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed a strong interest in urban ecology and how cities can be designed to benefit both people and wildlife.

1. You explained in detail how you investigated how floral diversity affects pollinator diversity in private green spaces. Did you also consider how the presence/absence of other habitat features (e.g. ponds or deadwood) in private green spaces affects pollinators?

No, my main focus was on the relationship between flowers and pollinators. It would have been nice to investigate a more extensive suite of habitat features, but unfortunately I had limited time in each green space so was forced to choose specific data to focus on collecting. Initially I did collect some other environmental data (e.g. temperature), but I ended up not including these data in my analysis or reporting because the variables didn’t end up having much explanatory power in my models. Temperature didn’t seem to vary much between the green spaces I sampled in, for example. I also at one point tried to collect data on the intensity and practices of habitat management in the green spaces, but that also didn’t end up making the final reporting as I really struggled to collect responses to the survey. In retrospect, one additional habitat feature I really would have liked to have investigated and collected data about is the availability of bare ground. The presence of bare ground is super valuable for ground-nesting bees, an important and speciose group of pollinators. It would be cool to have a dataset which demonstrates the importance of the provision of such bare ground in private green spaces.

2. What is it about native plants that leads to them receiving more pollination visits than non-native plants?

Native plants and native pollinators have evolved together for hundreds of thousands of years. Furthermore, many native plants have evolved to be specifically pollinated by certain native pollinators, and likewise many pollinators are specialised to pollinate only certain native wildflower species. Some generalist species who are not so fussy in their tastes may be content taking pollen from non-native plants, but overall native plants receive a few more pollination visits on average simply due to the power of evolutionary history.

One additional interesting angle to consider is that just because some plants are non-native here in the UK doesn’t mean they’re not native elsewhere in our pollinator species’ native ranges. The Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum), for example, has a large native range spanning much of Europe. Elsewhere in its European range there will be non-UK plants present which it has adapted to feed on. Introduce these plants to the UK and the Carder Bumblebee will be perfectly happy visiting them for pollen.

3. How can you find out if a plant is native or non-native in the UK?

One reliable source is the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) DDB taxon list. Under the column “GB status”, each species is classified as either native, neophyte (non-native status) or archaeophyte (non-native status but naturalised).

On another note – I think a lot more work can and should be done for garden centres to label their plants as native or non-native for the UK. Currently the information is only occasionally provided!

4. Is there a database of plant-pollinator preferences anywhere?

In terms of the preferences of certain pollinators for certain plants, I’m not sure that there is a database. I do however know there are some databases of global plant-pollinator interactions. That information could be seen as providing some rough approximation of preferences. There’s also been some work by Abigail Lowe and colleagues looking at using DNA to monitor plant-pollinator interactions. Abigail did another entoLIVE on the very subject in fact – you can watch the recording of her presentation here.

It’s also important to stress that we don’t want all gardeners planting the same ten plants in gardens across the UK just because those ten have been proven to be the ‘most preferable’ for the most pollinator species. What we need is a varied and diverse network of gardens of different types across our cities. We also need to be mindful that it’s not just the flowers themselves which are important to pollinators, and if you look at the use of plants more generally (e.g. as food plants for moth and butterfly caterpillars) you’d get a different list of plants which were the ‘most important’.

5. What would be your top recommendations for gardeners to improve the attractiveness of their gardens for pollinators?

One – create areas of bare soil. Having areas of bare soil, particularly on south-facing slopes, is really valuable for ground-nesting bees and all the other bees that rely on them. Two – let the vegetation grow long and messy. Pollinators like shelter; long vegetation provides plentiful pockets of sheltered microclimates, which is essential for pollinators’ survival when the weather is poor. Three – go for a high floral richness! The more botanically diverse your garden, the better. Get lots of different flowers.

Literature References

  1. Ayers and Rehan (2021) ‘Supporting bees in cities: How bees are influenced by local and landscape features’: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/2/128 
  2. Baldock et al. (2019) ‘A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities’: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0769-y
  3. Fournier et al. (2020) ‘The origin of urban communities: From the regional species pool to community assemblages in city’: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.13772
  4. Klein et al. (2007) ‘Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops’: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/274/1608/303/76437 
  5. Ollerton et al. (2011) ‘How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?’: https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x
  6. Plant et al. (2025) ‘Supporting pollinators in urban gardens: Floral richness and abundance influence flower visitor interactions regardless of the surrounding landscape’: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-025-01848-7 
  7. Powney et al. (2019) ‘Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain’: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08974-9
  8. Wenzel et al. (2020) ‘How urbanization is driving pollinator diversity and pollination – A systematic review’: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320719307761

Further Info

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife.

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Published by Joss Carr

Junior Naturalist at Biological Recording Company.

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