BEES DO THE heavy lifting when it comes to pollination. But Ireland’s solitary bees won’t buzz more than 200 metres to find food. That’s why a new national plan aims to bring nature to the bees by creating “pockets” of natural habitat ubiquitous across the island of Ireland. The third All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, launched yesterday, sets out measures including a new mapping system to support the creation of these new habitats. Úna Fitzpatrick, chief scientific officer at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, said it would bring ”landscape-level change”. Ireland’s wild bees are in decline, with one third of Ireland’s 100 species of wild bee at risk of extinction. Pollination is needed to ensure sustainability of food production, support the farming economy and protect the environment, the