Biodiversity Ireland

12/10/2026

🚨 Recording Activity Update🚨

In September 13,780 records were submitted through Ireland's Citizen Science Portal.

Moths were the overall most heavily recorded taxonomic group, while species like Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawk-moth were all in the Top 5 most recorded species.

11/10/2026

Happy Community Gardens & Allotments Week!

Dr Fiona MacGowan from Abbeyleix Tidy Towns tells us about the buzzing community garden in Abbeyleix, Co. Laois.

Pollinators like bees, hoverflies and moths play an essential role in the life of community gardens. They ensure many food plants produce a healthy harvest by transferring pollen between flowers. Apples, strawberries, tomatoes and pumpkins are just some of the foods we enjoy thanks to pollinators.

All over the island of Ireland, community gardens are thriving spaces for social connection, human health and wellbeing. Pollinators are important – but often overlooked – members of our communities; they are essential for the growth of many food plants including apples, strawberries and tomatoes, and also support wild native plants. Like us, they need food and shelter to survive, in an environment free from chemicals. Community gardens are perfect spaces to demonstrate how we can achieve a wider landscape where people and pollinators can thrive together.

Earlier this year, we worked with on a guide for managing community gardens for pollinators. Find out more and download the digital booklet for free here: https://pollinators.ie/communitygardens/

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is a framework bringing together different sectors across the island of Ireland to create a landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive. It is managed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

10/10/2026

Which species should I record? is a question often asked by Explore Your Shore! volunteer recorders... and our answer is ALL SPECIES. Because we are interested in species richness, and changes in species distributions, we want people to record as many species as they can find during each survey, including very common species. https://exploreyourshore.ie/surveys/the-great-rocky-shore-bioblitz/

08/10/2026

Taking Ireland's Biodiversity Data Global
The National Biodiversity Data Centre and the National Parks and Wildlife Service recently attended the 33rd meeting of the Governing Board of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) in Oslo. GBIF is the international biodiversity data infrastructure and network, funded by the world’s governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, with open access to data about all types of life on Earth. The National Biodiversity Data Centre serves as Ireland’s National Node to GBIF, and has published 4.6 million Irish biodiversity records on this international data portal.
The Norway meeting was significant as it celebrated 25 years of GBIF and saw Liam Lysaght, CEO, of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, finish his term as Chair of the Governing Board of GBIF, having served in that role for four years.

Photographed, from left: Gemma Weir, Ecological Data Manager, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Ireland's Head of Delegation GBIF; Dr Liam Lysaght, outgoing Chair GBIF and CEO of the National Biodiversity Data Centre; and Dr Michelle Judge, Ireland's GBIF Node Manager, and Data Manager, National Biodiversity Data Centre. 2 Oct 2026

To find out more about the work of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, see www.biodiversityireland.ie
To find out about the National Parks and Wildlife Service, visit www.npws.ie
To explore the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, visit www.gbif.org

08/10/2026

Happy ! 🐙 Ireland’s most frequently recorded octopus species is the Curled Octopus / Ochtapas adharcach / Eledone cirrhosa which has a single row of suckers on each arm. Although recorded from all coasts, most curled octopus records are from the east coast. 🌊 Explore More: https://exploreyourshore.ie/

06/10/2026

🚨 Essential Maintenance🚨

We will be carrying out essential maintenance to our systems throughout the day.

You may notice some disruption to your use of Ireland's Citizen Science Portal and Biodiversity Maps later today.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

06/10/2026

THEN AND NOW... The distribution of shore crab (Carcinus maenas) around the Irish coast has not changed since pre-2010. Explore Your Shore! has helped fill some gaps but this species is still found all around the Irish coast and is our most frequently recorded species. https://exploreyourshore.ie/

05/10/2026

A new bee has arrived in Clare!

Citizen scientist Jim Oldroyd was on a family walk when he spotted the Ivy Bee, a type of solitary bee, in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare on the 26th September:

"Having an interest in the natural world, I’m always on the lookout for something interesting. The first thing that drew my attention was the noise the bees were making digging burrows. The earth was shooting out like a miniature volcano! When I saw the bee, I knew I was looking at something unusual, and I was delighted when I got confirmation it was the Ivy Bee."

The Ivy Bee was first recorded in Ireland in 2021. Until Jim’s sighting, the most westerly record of the Ivy Bee in Ireland was from New Ross, Co. Wexford, making it a first for Clare and for the West!

Ivy Bees nest in loose, light or sandy soil on southern-facing banks and cliffs with ivy nearby for nectar and pollen. They are most active in September and October when Ivy is in flower. In Britain, they are common in urban and farmland settings, as well as coastal heathlands. They are solitary bees, but when conditions are suitable, there may be thousands of nests in the same area. Like most wild bees in Ireland, they are not aggressive and are not a threat to humans.

Find out more about Jim's discovery, and how to send in your own sightings, here:
https://biodiversityireland.ie/a-new-bee-for-clare/

Clare County Council Greener Clare

The Ivy Bee, first recorded in Ireland in 2021, has just been spotted in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare.On September 26th, the Ivy Bee was recorded in Sixmilebridge

03/10/2026

How do tides drive the pace of life on the seashore ? ... discover the answer to this and more by completing our FREE online course in Marine Biodiversity Citizen Science. See: https://learn.biodiversityireland.ie/courses/marinebiodiversity

01/10/2026

Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, today (1 October) confirmed that an intensive National Parks and Wildlife Service operation is now underway to locate and remove an Asian hornet nest in the Ringaskiddy area of Co. Cork.

The operation was escalated following the successful capture of a second Asian hornet close to the location where an initial specimen was photographed by a member of the public late last week.

See press release for full details: https://shorturl.at/CWFEz

The public are asked to remain vigilant and report suspected Asian Hornet sightings immediately with a photograph through the Asian Hornet Reporter: www.invasives.ie/asianhornetreporter

A photograph is required to verify all reports of Asian hornet. Photographs allow the National Biodiversity Data Centre to verify that the species sighted is an Asian hornet, as many native species can look very similar.

For help with identification and to learn more about Asian hornet visit: www.invasives.ie/asianhornet