Use of Tübingen mix for bee pasture in Germany

Published source details Engels W., Schulz U. & Rädle M. (1994) Use of Tübingen mix for bee pasture in Germany. Pages 57-65 in: A. Matheson (ed.) Forage for Bees in an Agricultural Landscape. International Bee Research Association, Cardiff.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Plant nectar flower mixture/wildflower strips Action Link

Plant nectar flower mixture/wildflower strips

A replicated study in 1992-1993 in one arable field in Baden-Württemberg, Germany (Engels et al. 1994) recorded 58 species of wild bee (Apidae) either nesting or foraging on wildflower plots (sown with ‘Tübingen’ nectar and pollen mixture), including 11 species of true bumblebee Bombus spp. and five species of cuckoo bumblebee Bombus [Psithyrus] spp. Thirty-five bee species foraged on flowers from the Tübingen wildflower mixture. In total, over 50 herbaceous plant species were recorded in the Tübingen wildflower plots in 1992, and over 60 in Tübingen plots grown over two years in 1993. Ladybirds (Coccinellidae), hoverflies (Syrphidae), green lacewings (Chrysopidae) and butterflies (Lepidoptera) were also observed on the sown strips, including the swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon. Three strips of the commercially available ‘Tübingen nectar and pollen mixture’ (40% phacelia Phacelia tancetifolia, 25% buckwheat Fagopyron esculentum) were sown at the edge of an arable field. Two strips were sown only in the first year, one strip was sown in both years.