Endangered species of bumblebee is making a comeback in Somerset and Essex thanks to the recreation of wildflower meadows that were wiped out in the Second World War
- Rare bee species is almost extinct in the UK due to loss of specific natural habitat
- The shrill carder is only to be found in sparse areas in south England and Wales
- ‘Back from the Brink’ project aims to save the species by creating 60ha of habitat
An endangered species of bee is making a comeback on two English conservation sites that have recreated wildflower-rich meadows.
The endangered rare shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum), which gets its name from its high pitched buzz, has suffered declines in numbers since the end of WWII, when many of the country’s wildflower meadows were replaced with farmland.
The species is now only found in a handful of locations in southern England and South Wales and is described as ‘perhaps our rarest bumblebee’.
But after successful conservation work, Lytes Cary manor and estate in Somerset and RSPB’s Rainham Marshes site in Essex have been designated ‘exemplary’ sites for the bee by wildlife charities Buglife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
Both charities are leading the ‘Back from the Brink’ conservation project, which aims to save the creature from extinction in the UK by creating 60 hectares of habitat.
The protected species is likely to continue to decline unless its flower-rich foraging habitats – often on brownfield sites – are protected.
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UK rural areas that were once filled with wildflowers, on which the Shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) depends, have been lost
‘With the National Trust being one of the largest landowners of flower-rich grasslands, its involvement is crucial for the conservation and recovery of the species,’ said Sinead Lynch, conservation manager at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
‘Choosing champion sites in our “Back from the Brink” shrill carder bee recovery project helps to highlight and celebrate where the species are doing well and gives us great case studies to help people to learn about the positive management of the species which in turn helps to secure its long term future.’
The shrill carder bee has a strong association with complex flowers in the families Lamiacaea and Fabacaea, according to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
Other than the extinct and re-introduced Short-haired bumblebee, the shrill carder (pictured) is ‘perhaps our rarest bumblebee’, according to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, now known only at a handful of sites in south Wales and southern England and ‘generally scarce even there’
It is a distinctive greyish-green, straw-coloured species, with a dull orange tail and clear black band across the thorax.
Like many bees and other important pollinators, the shrill carder has suffered from the disappearance of 97 per cent of the country’s wildflower meadows since the Second World War, causing huge declines in food sources for insects.
The designation of the National Trust’s Lytes Cary as an exemplary site for the bee comes after almost a decade of work by volunteers, staff and farm tenants on the 361-acre (146 hectare) mixed farming estate to recreate wildflower-rich areas.
Lytes Cary Manor and estate in Somerset, where the endangered shrill carder bee is making a comeback following work to create wildflower-rich meadows
It is part of the Trust’s wider work on its land to create more than 2,470 acres (1,000 hectares) of flower-rich grasslands to boost nature in the countryside.
At Lytes Cary, under an agri-environmental farming payments scheme, arable fields have been turned into meadows and large, wildflower-rich margins have been put in around the remaining fields of crops.
‘The work we did with volunteers included the planting out of hundreds of plugs of white dead nettle and comfrey by volunteers,’ said Mark Musgrave, the National Trust’s lead ranger at Lytes Cary Manor.
Wildlife charities Buglife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust have designated the estate in Somerset as one of two ‘exemplary’ sites for the rare shrill carder bee. The other site where the bee, which gets its name from its high pitched buzz, is doing well is the RSPB’s Rainham Marshes site in Essex
‘We have been propagating white dead nettle as it’s an important nectar source for adult bees.
‘Over the winter our volunteers planted hundreds of white dead nettle and comfrey as well as a mixture of wildflowers from seed which will act as a wider source of nectar and pollen for foraging worker bees, including yellow rattle and black knapweed.
‘We are looking at places where we can plant more comfrey, another fantastic nectar source, and will be protecting key sites with flowers known to be good for the bees.’
A flower rich meadow at Lytes Cary Manor and estate in Somerset. The species has a strong association with complex flowers in the families Lamiacaea and Fabacaea
Wildlife Trust says the shrill carder is restricted to the Somerset Levels, Gwent Levels and Pembrokeshire and along the Glamorgan coast and Thames corridor.
This Back from the Brink project is focusing on two of the last strongholds of the bee, in Somerset and the Thames Gateway.
Research suggests the species doesn’t forage as far from the nest as other species, so it needs open, extensive flower rich habitats close to undisturbed nesting habitat.
THE SHRILL CARDER IS ONE OF THE UK’s RAREST BUMBLEBEES
The shrill carder bee is one of the UK’s most threatened bumblebees.
It has a distinctive bee which can be identified by its pale grey yellow colouring, black band of hair between the wings and a reddish-orange tail.
It also has a noticeably high-pitched buzz that gives it its name.
Once widespread in lowland Britain, it suffered a severe reduction in distribution over the 20th century.
It’s one of the smallest British bumblebee species – queens are 0.63 to 0.71 inches long and workers are typically between 0.39 and 0.59 inches.
It needs extensive areas of flower-rich habitat to sustain a population.
The species nests above ground in tussocky grass and thick vegetation, although it is found in a variety of habitats including grassland, heathland, coastal and brownfield.
It is a priority species for conservation in England and Wales.
The principal causes of decline are the loss of flower-rich meadows and the intensification of farming and grazing practices.
Shrill carder is one of the last species to emerge from hibernation in spring, as well as one of the last to finish nesting and go into hibernation in the autumn.
As it is a late emerging species, it is crucial to provide forage into late September to ensure new queens are reared.
Late cut meadows, field edges, hedgerow margins,sea walls and ditches can help achieve this.
Source: Bumblebee Conservation Trust
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