Rapeseed: bees and pollination
Without pollinators, rapeseed loses a noticeable part of its yield.
How much of the yield depends on pollinators
Modest: 10 to 40% yield loss without pollinators (10-39%)
Without pollinators, rapeseed loses a noticeable part of its yield.
Loss without pollinators: 10 to 39 percent
The classification comes from the PLLNT11 dataset of the EU Pollinator Hub, based on Klein and others (2007). It is a range for the crop as a whole; varieties and growing methods can differ, for example self-pollinating varieties or greenhouse growing with bumblebees.
Which bees visit rapeseed
64 bee species have been recorded on this crop, in 865 records of flower visits. None of them is listed as threatened on the European Red List.
| Bee | Group | Red List Europe | Flies | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey beeApis mellifera | Honey bees | - Not assessed | Dec - Aug | 162 |
| Bombus lapidarius | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 113 |
| Buff-tailed bumblebeeBombus terrestris | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Mar - Aug | 65 |
| White-tailed bumblebeeBombus lucorum | Bumble Bees | NT Near threatened | Apr - Aug | 56 |
| Ashy Mining BeeAndrena cineraria | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jun | 44 |
| Common carder bumblebeeBombus pascuorum | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Sep | 36 |
| Early mining beeAndrena haemorrhoa | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 34 |
| Andrena nigroaenea | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jun | 26 |
| Mining beeAndrena flavipes | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jul | 25 |
| Osmia bicornis | Mason Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 24 |
| Lasioglossum laticeps | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 20 |
| Osmia bicolor | Mason Bees | LC Least concern | Mar - Jun | 18 |
| Early bumblebeeBombus pratorum | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 17 |
| Lasioglossum pauxillum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 15 |
| Shrill carder beeBombus sylvarum | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | May - Sep | 12 |
| Lasioglossum malachurum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 12 |
| Lasioglossum fulvicorne | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Sep | 11 |
| Halictus tumulorum | Halictus | LC Least concern | May - Sep | 10 |
| Bombus hypnorum | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 9 |
| Small garden bumblebeeBombus hortorum | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 9 |
| Andrena minitulaAndrena minutula | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jul | 9 |
| Andrena helvola | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 8 |
| Andrena dorsata | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jul | 8 |
| Lasioglossum morio | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 7 |
| Andrena nitida | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 6 |
| Bombus schrencki | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 6 |
| Lasioglossum interruptum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 6 |
| Osmia brevicornis | Mason Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 6 |
| Lasioglossum calceatum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Sep | 5 |
| Lasioglossum xanthopus | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Sep | 5 |
| Andrena bicolor | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - Jul | 5 |
| Bombus veteranus | Bumble Bees | NT Near threatened | May - Sep | 4 |
| Lasioglossum glabriusculum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 4 |
| Andrena chrysosceles | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 4 |
| Bombus ruderarius | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 4 |
| Andrena lagopus | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 4 |
| Andrena minutuloides | Andrena | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 4 |
| Tawny Mining BeeAndrena fulva | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 3 |
| Broken-belted bumblebeeBombus soroeensis | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Jun - Sep | 2 |
| Sphecodes miniatus | Sphecodes | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Sphecodes ephippius | Sphecodes | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Andrena distinguenda | Andrena | LC Least concern | no data | 2 |
| Andrena fulvata | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 2 |
| Osmia aurulenta | Mason Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Jul | 2 |
| Nomada succincta | Nomad Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 2 |
| Melecta albifrons | Melecta | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 2 |
| Andrena gravida | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 2 |
| Lasioglossum quadrinotatum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Andrena labiata | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 2 |
| Lasioglossum nitidulum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Lasioglossum nitidiusculum | Lasioglossum | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Andrena nana | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Andrena nitidiuscula | Andrena | LC Least concern | Jun - Aug | 2 |
| Andrena niveata | Andrena | NT Near threatened | Jan - Jul | 2 |
| Andrena strohmella | Andrena | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 2 |
| Andrena subopaca | Andrena | LC Least concern | Apr - Jul | 2 |
| Anthophora aestivalis | Anthophora | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 2 |
| Halictus rubicundus | Halictus | LC Least concern | Apr - Sep | 2 |
| Halictus maculatus | Halictus | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 2 |
| Eucera nigrescens | Eucera | LC Least concern | Apr - Jun | 2 |
| Colletes cunicularius | Cellophane bees | LC Least concern | Mar - May | 2 |
| Vestal cuckoo beeBombus vestalis | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | Apr - Aug | 1 |
| Brown-banded carder beeBombus humilis | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | May - Sep | 1 |
| Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble BeeBombus bohemicus | Bumble Bees | LC Least concern | May - Aug | 1 |
Scale, from severe to not threatened: CR critically endangered, EN endangered, VU vulnerable, NT near threatened, LC least concern. DD: data deficient.
When the visitors fly
Number of species flying per month, according to the flight calendar from open records in Europe. A species counts in every month it flies.
Sources
This page only uses sources with an open licence. The bee database itself contains more records, from sources for which permission is still pending.
- Vliegperiode per maand, afgeleid uit BeeBDC-waarnemingen met open licentie (CC0 / CC BY)
FairGrow (afgeleid) · version 1.3.4 · licence CC BY 4.0 (afgeleid uit CC0 / CC BY)
Afgeleid door FairGrow uit: Dorey, J. B. et al. (2023). A globally synthesised and flagged bee occurrence dataset and cleaning workflow. Scientific Data 10: 747. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02626-w. Cleaned database v1.3.4 (2024-02-15), Figshare. Kleinste maandvenster met 90% van de waarnemingen, minimaal 20 records.
doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02626-w - Bij-plantinteracties: EuPPollNet via GloBI (CC BY 4.0)
GloBI / Big Bee · version 7.0 · licence CC BY 4.0
Lanuza, J. B. et al. (2025). EuPPollNet: a European database of plant-pollinator networks. Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.15183272 (CC BY 4.0), via Seltmann, K. et al. / Big Bee project and GloBI (2025). Global Bee Interaction Data v7.0. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17957582. Underlying data: Global Biotic Interactions (Poelen et al. 2014).
doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17957582 - Bij-plantinteracties: DoPI via GloBI (CC BY 4.0)
GloBI / Big Bee · version 7.0 · licence CC BY 4.0
Balfour, N. J. et al. Database of Pollinator Interactions (DoPI). Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.15224385 (CC BY 4.0), via Seltmann, K. et al. / Big Bee project and GloBI (2025). Global Bee Interaction Data v7.0. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17957582. Underlying data: Global Biotic Interactions (Poelen et al. 2014).
doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17957582 - European Red List of Bees (2026), Appendix 1: Red List status at Pan-Europe and EU27 levels
Publications Office of the European Union / IUCN · version 2026 · licence CC BY 4.0
Michez, D. et al. (2026). European Red List of Bees. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2779/521877 (CC BY 4.0). Appendix 1.
doi.org/10.2779/521877 - Wikidata: taxon common names (P1843) and labels of bee species
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata · version SPARQL 2026-10-18 · licence CC0 1.0
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, taxon common names (P1843) and labels, retrieved 2026-10-18. https://www.wikidata.org (CC0).
www.wikidata.org - EU Pollinator Hub PLLNT11.0.0 Pollination: dependency of crops on animal pollination
EU Pollinator Hub (EFSA / BeeLife), Zenodo · version PLLNT11.0.0 · licence CC BY 4.0
Rubinigg, M. (2023). Pollination (PLLNT11.0.0). EU Pollinator Hub. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18008331 (CC BY 4.0). Based on Klein, A.-M. et al. (2007). Proc. R. Soc. B 274: 303-313. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3721
doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18008331
Bee groups on this crop
Crops with the same dependence
Which bees fly around your field?
In the FairGrow bee database you see the species in the cells around your own fields and apiaries, with flight weather and forage landscape.
