• Less known than the honey bee, the wild bee is nevertheless just as essential to pollination.

  • There are more than 1,000 species of wild bees in France, all very different from each other.

  • The program developed in the regional natural parks of Nouvelle-Aquitaine must make it possible to restore its habitat and encourage its movement.

Did you know that there are more than 1,000 species of wild bees in France?

That the smallest do not exceed the size of a grain of rice, when the largest, the

purple Xylocope

, measures up to 30 mm?

That we find yellow, red, black?

“Often, when we talk about pollination and pollinating insects, we think of the honey bee, but it is only one species, we must not forget all the others which do not necessarily have the same life or the same ability to move, insists Eva Thibon, coordinator of the Life "Wild Bees" program.

And since wild bees rarely make honey, they generally garner all the less interest, yet they are just as essential for pollination.

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Territories of experimentation

Getting to know the role of these wild bees better and gaining recognition will be one of the challenges of this Life “Wild Bees” program.

With a budget of 6.5 million euros until 2026, 60% funded by Europe but also by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the French Office for Biodiversity, it should also allow work to be carried out of "ecological engineering" to restore habitats favorable to wild bees, and reintroduce plants of local origin to allow better pollination.

Led by the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park (PNR), it will involve the four other PNRs of New Aquitaine (Marais-Poitevin, Médoc, Millevaches in Limousin and Landes de Gascogne) which thus become experimental territories for the safeguarding of these species.

“70% of wild bee species are soil-dwelling”

Even if they are less known than honey bees, wild bees are just as affected by the decline of pollinating insects, due to the use of neonicotinoids, or the artificialization of soils.

Solitary, the wild bee has trouble finding its nest under the effect of pesticides.

“70% of wild bee species are soil-dwelling, that is to say that they make their nest in the ground, it is therefore necessary to free the calcareous lawns that they like, adds Eva Thibon.

It is also necessary to reconnect the nesting sites of the floral resources, because the smallest species of wild bees travel less than 200 meters, when a honey bee can cover 3 km.

Thus, when we flower a roundabout, we must also think about keeping soil nearby for the nest.

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The “Wild Bees” project will also work to “interconnect the sites via ecological corridors, for example under high voltage lines or on the sides of the road, to improve habitats.

“A job that will require the training of staff from Enedis and RTE, or from the departmental council.

Promote local plant species

It is also essential to promote local plant species, while the New Aquitaine region has not been spared in recent decades by the emergence of invasive alien species.

“The bees have adapted to some of these species, such as the false acacia locust, which also gives very good honey.

But we don't want to propagate these species too much, which compete with local species.

We are trying to eradicate, even if it is very difficult, water primrose, an invasive plant found on the edge of ponds.

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With more than 1,000 species, wild bees, even if some only forage on one floral species, have the advantage of pollinating a greater number of plants than domestic bees.

The regional council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, estimates the pollination service at more than 450 million euros of food production for human use.

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