The Short-haired bumblebee reintroduction

The Short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, is native to the UK and was once widespread across the south of England, occurring as far north as Humberside.
 
Post-1950s its population distribution became isolated and patchy. Its decline was almost certainly the result of the loss of the species-rich grassland habitats on which it depends.
 
It was last recorded near Dungeness in 1988 and was declared extinct in 2000.

• Project objectives

To reintroduce the Short-haired bumblebee in the UK.

To establish a corridor/mosaic of suitable bumblebee habitat through Dungeness and Romney Marsh spreading into East and North Kent.

To raise the profile of bumblebee conservation through public outreach.

• Key dates so far

2009: The Short-haired bumblebee partnership was formed between Natural England, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Hymettus and the RSPB.

2009 and 2010: Attempts were made to captive rear and export queens back from New Zealand to the UK but with limited success. Results from genetic analysis showed high levels of inbreeding.

2011: Natural England and the project partners agreed to change the reintroduction source location from New Zealand to a European source. Sweden was chosen as it supports the most robust population and has a broadly similar climate to the UK.

May 2011: An initial visit to Sweden found suitable source locations. A sample of bees were collected and have been checked for diseases at Royal Holloway College.

May 2012: Flowering fields in Kent welcome home Bombus subterraneus – otherwise known as the Short-haired bumblebee - nearly a quarter of a century after the bee was last seen in Britain. Read more about the return in our News article.

• Project summary

The project is working with farmers, conservation groups, small holders and other land owners to create flower-rich habitat within the release area of Dungeness and Romney Marsh. Over 550 hectares are now in a favourable condition in support of the reintroduction.

The Swedish Threatened Species Unit (STSU) advised that the status of the Short-haired bumblebee in Sweden has improved and it is no longer red-listed. After consulting with Naturvårdsverket, STSU further advised that samping of a limited number of queens could go ahead. Advice was sought from both Sweden's national bumblebee expert and the local bumblebee recorder before the County of Skåne in southern Sweden was finally chosen as the source of the bees. We were advised that the population in southern Sweden was strong and that there are similarities in climate between southern Sweden and the UK.

An initial visit to Sweden was made in May 2011 to find suitable locations to collect queen bees. Working with the local bumblebee recorder, suitable areas of habitat were visited and bees collected for disease screening.

Natural England undertook a full Disease Risk Assessment and Disease Management Plan in order to meet IUCN guidelines on species reintroductions. This required a protocol to be followed for reducing the risk of disease transmission. The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) has approved the import of the bees into the UK and the Natural England licencing unit granted a license to release them.

In spring 2012, with continuing permissions and the co-operation of local and national bee experts in Sweden, up to 100 queen bees were collected from two areas of Skåne in southern Sweden where good numbers of Short-haired bumblebees were found in 2011.

The bees were collected from two transects approximately 40 kilometres in length and a distance of 40 kilometres miles apart. Queens were collected with low intensity from along this 80 kilometre transect, meaning that there was minimal impact on the population at any one locality. Areas of Skane which do not fall on these linear transects were not visited and samples were not collected.

The bees were then checked for mites and American foulbrood disease by a registered vet and honeybee inspector in Sweden prior to a heath certificate being signed which allows their transportation to the UK. After a period in quarantine at Royal Holloway, University of London, they were released at Dungeness nature reserve.

Further releases are planned for the succeeding years to build up a population.

• Results

To date the project has had enormous success with bumblebee habitat creation prior to the reintroduction of the Short-haired bumblebee. The project has created, advised and assisted in the management of over 550 hectares of flower rich habitat within the release area of Dungeness and Romney Marsh. The RSPB’s Dungeness nature reserve is contributing to this through the creation of 4 ha of flower-rich bumblebee habitat from the restoration of arable fields.

The success of the habitat creation is being assessed through survey transects to record bumblebee species and numbers seen. Excitingly five of the seven UK BAP priority species have been recorded on the transects. England's rarest bumblebee, the Shrill carder bee, has returned to the Dungeness RSPB reserve after a 25-year absence and the large Garden bumblebee has come back after ten years. The project has played a large part in raising awareness of bumblebee declines through events and publicity.

Further information about the project can be found on our partner's web pages:

Hymettus

Natural England

RSPB