Some interesting findings have emerged from a project that asked the question …..

Which wildflowers are best for wild bees ?  Click this link to read the article 

You may notice that the soil in the research area near Bath was more limey than Herefordshire and the favourite wild bee forage plants reflect this; kidney vetch is unlikely do well in our soils for example. But the findings are very interesting and a study of neutral / acid grassland would be very interesting addition.

Sue Holland comments ” the suggested mix would be good for arable margins and attracting pollinators to arable crops too.  In a herb rich Herefordshire meadow yellow rattle, bird’s foot trefoil, red clover, dandelions, hawkweeds and knapweed are very popular. with bees and Devil’s bit scabious also good later on in the season”

Research was done by Rachel Nichols as a NERC CASE studentship with additional support from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust;  supervised by Dave Goulson (University of Sussex) and John Holland (GWCT).