January 2025

Common Vetch: a treasure for fields and meadows

2025-02-06T10:54:43+01:00

Common Vetch A treasure for fields and meadows The common vetch (Vicia sativa, family Fabaceae) is an annual herbaceous plant that adorns fields with its vibrant pink-violet flowers. Ranging in height from 10 to 90 cm, it thrives in meadows, cultivated fields, fallow lands, roadsides, and slopes. Its stems either spread along the ground or climb using the tendrils found on its leaves. Vetch is highly valued by pollinators, especially bees , which find in its flowers a rich source of nectar and pollen. As a legume, it also plays a crucial role in soil health, fixing atmospheric nitrogen through [...]

Common Vetch: a treasure for fields and meadows2025-02-06T10:54:43+01:00

Tree Bumblebee. An exceptional pollinator!

2025-01-22T11:53:31+01:00

Tree Bumblebee An exceptional pollinator!   Bumblebees are close relatives of honeybees: they are hymenopteran insects belonging to the family Apidae, genus Bombus. Like bees, bumblebees are social insects living in colonies ruled by a queen . They are incredibly important and super-efficient pollinators!   Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) is a bumblebee that nests in tree cavities – hence its name. It is easily recognized by its tawny thorax, black abdomen with a white tail, and its fast, noisy flight. It is one of the few bumblebee species that has adapted to urban areas .   The nest is relatively [...]

Tree Bumblebee. An exceptional pollinator!2025-01-22T11:53:31+01:00

Did You Know About Flower Strips?

2025-01-22T11:50:49+01:00

Did You Know About Flower Strips?   Flower strips are bands of spontaneous herbaceous plants created along the edges of cultivated fields, roads, and orchards. These "green infrastructures" are specifically designed to support the presence of pollinating insects.   Their width ranges from 2 to 10 meters and consists of a mix of native plants that bloom at different times. This variety provides a true "restaurant" for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators from spring to autumn!   Did you know?   Flowering strips are a relatively recent agricultural practice, originating in the 1990s, but they are rapidly spreading across Europe [...]

Did You Know About Flower Strips?2025-01-22T11:50:49+01:00

Alfalfa A Plant with Many Virtues!

2025-01-22T11:47:42+01:00

Alfalfa A Plant with Many Virtues! Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), also known as lucerne, is a perennial plant from the Fabaceae family, native to the Mediterranean regions. Thanks to its rare ability to enrich the soil with nitrogen through symbiosis with specific bacteria, alfalfa has been introduced across Europe to improve soil fertility. This plant is also an excellent forage for livestock. Its distinctive flowers range in color from pale pink to deep purple and attract a wide variety of pollinators , who find in them a precious source of nectar and pollen. The honey produced by bees visiting these flowers [...]

Alfalfa A Plant with Many Virtues!2025-01-22T11:47:42+01:00
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