A recent study carried out in the Finca Las Primicias, owned by the company Grupo G's España (Aguilas, Murcia), by entomologist Óscar Aguado and the company Syngenta, has found a total of 194 species of insects in the floral margins cultivated in this area. 169 of them are pollinating species and 55 predators of possible pests.
According to Óscar Aguado, "it is very interesting to observe how up to 11 endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula have found a habitat and food in the floral margins. This includes some solitary bees, which have a high natural value because they are highly pollinating species."
Grupo G’s España has been very actively involved in the Pollinator Operation project (www.operacionpolinizador.es) for the past nine years. The project has been developed in the framework of The Good Growth Plan, promoted by several private partners and led by Syngenta. In the words of Francisco Garcia-Verde, head for sustainability projects at Syngenta, "the Pollinator Operation is a project backed by more than 11 years of research. It consists in the cultivation of specific mixtures of flowers, which become food and habitat for beneficial insect species, on the margins of crops. These floral margins not only generate biodiversity in environments that are heavily shaped by intensive agriculture, but can also help through the pollination of adjacent crops or by facilitating the presence of auxiliary insects." According to Francisco García-Verde the project is currently driven by large and small companies, as well as producers' associations and scientific entities which have set the spread of biodiversity as one of their main challenges.
In the margins of the crops of Grupo G's Spain in Águilas, Murcia, a mixture of native flowers has been cultivated for years. These have helped multiply the number of beneficial pollinating insects. Moreover, they have done this in an area with a particularly fragile ecosystem due to the impact of intensive farming.
Grupo G's España is one of the world's leading suppliers of vegetables, citrus fruits and organic products. It is a subsidiary of the British G's Group Holdings Limited, which produces a lot in Spain. They supply vegetables to customers in 30 countries in Europe and the Middle East and cultivate some 5,000 hectares, located mainly in the Campo de Cartagena, Aguilas and Jumilla, in the Region of Murcia, as well as in other provinces, such as Alicante, Granada, Almeria and Albacete. They have an average of 3,000 employees working in Spain.
The study has served to identify 11 species of pollinating insects endemic to the area, highlighting four pollinating insects that have special scientific value and importance, according to entomologist Óscar Aguado: "The wasp Scolia carbonaria, the bees Osmia aurulenta and Eucera cineraria and the butterfly Colias alfacariensis. All of these have an extremely high pollination capacity and have a positive impact on both the crops and on the generation of biodiversity in the area."
In 2016, several companies in the Peninsula followed G's example and joined the Pollinator Operation, proceeding also to expand the acreage devoted to the cultivation of multifunctional strips. These companies are aware that this is the only way to encourage the presence of pollinators, while avoiding some of the soil loss in areas with slopes, and even part of the evaporation. Some areas are also kept completely free of cultivation, thus facilitating the protection of the area's natural vegetation.