← All crops

White mustard: bees and pollination

Without pollinators, white mustard loses a noticeable part of its yield.

Sinapis albaEPPO code SINAL
Modest
Loss without pollinators: 10 to 39 percent
23
Bee species recorded
29
Records
0
Threatened (Europe)

How much of the yield depends on pollinators

Modest: 10 to 40% yield loss without pollinators (10-39%)

Without pollinators, white mustard loses a noticeable part of its yield.

0%50%100%

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 white mustard

23 bee species have been recorded on this crop, in 29 records of flower visits. None of them is listed as threatened on the European Red List.

BeeGroupRed List EuropeFliesRecords
Lasioglossum marginatumLasioglossumLC Least concern Apr - Jun2
Eucera oraniensisEuceraLC Least concern Jan - Mar2
White-tailed bumblebeeBombus lucorumBumble BeesNT Near threatened Apr - Aug2
Bombus lapidariusBumble BeesLC Least concern Apr - Aug2
Honey beeApis melliferaHoney bees- Not assessed Dec - Aug2
Andrena lamianaAndrenaLC Least concernno data2
Andrena nigricepsAndrenaLC Least concern Jun - Aug1
Buff-tailed bumblebeeBombus terrestrisBumble BeesLC Least concern Mar - Aug1
Early bumblebeeBombus pratorumBumble BeesLC Least concern Apr - Aug1
Common carder bumblebeeBombus pascuorumBumble BeesLC Least concern Apr - Sep1
Small garden bumblebeeBombus hortorumBumble BeesLC Least concern Apr - Aug1
Andrena nitidaAndrenaLC Least concern Apr - Jun1
Andrena nigroaeneaAndrenaLC Least concern Mar - Jun1
Long-lipped AndrenaAndrena barbilabrisAndrenaLC Least concern Apr - Jul1
Andrena labiataAndrenaLC Least concern Apr - Jun1
Andrena labialisAndrenaLC Least concern May - Jul1
Early mining beeAndrena haemorrhoaAndrenaLC Least concern Apr - Jun1
Andrena fucataAndrenaLC Least concern May - Jul1
Mining beeAndrena flavipesAndrenaLC Least concern Mar - Jul1
Andrena dorsataAndrenaLC Least concern Mar - Jul1
Ashy Mining BeeAndrena cinerariaAndrenaLC Least concern Mar - Jun1
Andrena chrysoscelesAndrenaLC Least concern Apr - Jun1
Andrena bicolorAndrenaLC Least concern Mar - Jul1

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.

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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.

Keep exploring

Related guides

Bee groupsThe wild bees and the honey bee of Europe, by genus: how many species there are,Read the guide →Pest and disease risk from the weather, per fieldFairGrow calculates the risk of crop diseases and pests from the weather for each field, usingRead the guide →Crop protection: may this product be used here, on this crop, against this pest?A product authorised in the Netherlands is not thereby authorised in Belgium or Germany. Not evenRead the guide →EPPO codes: one key for every plant and pestBuxusmot, pyrale du buis, Buchsbaumzünsler, box tree moth. Four names, one insect. As long as youRead the guide →

Browse the full knowledge base →

✓

Thank you!

We've received your request and will be in touch soon.

➤ Personal contact within 1 business day

➤ A proposal tailored to your situation