Latest news

We're into the FINAL!

Great News! We have reached the FINALS of a national awards scheme for the best environmental project! Many thanks to those of your that voted.

A camera crew visited us to put together a short video about our work. We filmed the filming... Check out the video below:

Watch this space for details of the final round of voting...

In other news

Could you spare a few pounds to sponsor the Flying Banana Bumblebee?

Adrian Wood is cycling from Land's End to John o'Groats to raise money for BBCT and would love to receive your support...

Sponsor the flying banana bumblebee!

The Garden and Leisure Group make us their Charity of the Year!

We are pleased to announce that the Garden & Leisure Group have adopted BBCT as their Charity of the Year 2010 across their seven UK stores!

They will be involving local residents and schoolchildren in raising awareness of the plight of bumblebees through fancy dress competitions, colouring competitions, in-store promotions, special seeds and plants for sale that are ‘Bee Friendly’, BBCT collections boxes, and lots of information for local bee lovers.

They are launching the BBCT as their charity on March 27th with BBC Presenter Toby Buckland at Cadbury Garden & Leisure, near Bristol.

For press enquiries, contact Jayne Warren, Garden & Leisure’s PR, Media & Press Officer on 01275 850900, M: 07770 444155. Email: jayne.warren@ontrac360.com

For quotes from BBCT staff, please email enquiries@bumblebeeconservation.org

Southern Invader Creates Border Buzz!

BBCT staff are buzzing with excitement at the discovery of a new bumblebee species for Scotland - the first for fifty years. The discovery comes as Scotland enters Scottish Environment Week, which brings together MSPs and environmentalists to celebrate Scotland's environment.

Photo by Nick Owens.

1400 years after the princess Æbbe fled north to Scotland and established a monastery at St Abbs, the Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis) defied its name and followed suit, crossing the border not far from Humbleton Hill, in an area known for its historical cross-border incursions.

The bee was discovered at St Abbs (just north of Eyemouth, in Berwickshire) by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's Conservation Officer for Scotland, Bob Dawson.

Bob commented: "It's hugely exciting to discover a new species for Scotland - I'm thrilled. Cuckoo bumblebees can be tricky to identify. They look superficially similar to other bumblebees - black with yellow stripes - but males of this species have distinctive antennae. Thankfully Murdo Macdonald from the Highland Biological Recording Group confirmed my suspicions."

Click here for an identification fact sheet

BBCT director, Ben Darvill, noted that a good news story was long overdue. "At a time when bumblebees up and down the UK are struggling due to a lack of flower-rich habitat, it is heartening to see that at least one species is expanding its range," he said. "Sadly many other species are threatened with national extinction, with Scotland's Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) in particular trouble. We very much hope it's not a case of 'One in, one out.'".

It is too early to say whether the Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee's arrival is due to climate change, but it seems likely.

Gardeners can make a significant difference to the plight of the bumblebee by growing the right kinds of flowers throughout the year - many fancy varieties are of little use to wildlife. Cottage garden plants and wild flowers are best. Click here for more information

We WON €30,000!

Voting has now closed on the Live for the Outdoors website in their competition to determine the most worthy eco-project. Great news - WE WON! A massive thank you to everyone who voted for us!

You can follow Pippa's work on the Bumblebee Habitat Project at her blog

Pembrokeshire Paradise... we need YOUR HELP!

We are hoping to win funding for a fantastic project to restore bumblebee habitat along the Pembrokeshire coast. By creating flower-rich areas along a new path, BBCT hope to support populations of the very rare shrill carder bee and other bumblebees, as well as providing habitat for a wide range of other invertebrates and birds.

None of this can happen without the votes of the public as the project is up against five others hoping to receive funding from the EOG Association for Conservation. The winner will be decided by the votes of visitors to the 'Live For The Outdoors' website and readers of Trail Magazine. To find out more and vote for this worthwhile project please visit the Live For The Outdoors website.

Voting starts from Wednesday 27th January and is open for only 10 days! VOTE NOW!

What we propose to do

We will create wildflower-rich habitat to support rare bumblebees along a new 10km path in the Pembrokeshire National Park. By connecting key sites, this attractive route through spectacular scenery will help prevent the national extinction of the shrill carder bee.

Why people should vote for us

This is a fantastic opportunity to help a really rare bumblebee and create a lovely place for a walk! Your vote will help us to introduce wildflowers along a new path through previously-restricted MoD land at Castlemartin and create wildflower-rich meadows nearby. This will provide essential bumblebee habitat and also create pretty places full of flowers, bees and butterflies for everyone to enjoy. We’ll be bringing extra colour and ‘buzz’ to beautiful Pembrokeshire! Bumblebees are vital to us as they pollinate many wildflowers and important crops, so it is imperative that we look after them. The project can make a real difference as Pembrokeshire supports many bumblebee species, including the very rare shrill carder bee (a handsome little bumblebee with a high-pitched buzz!). Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Countryside Council for Wales and the MoD have already offered to support this exciting project if we can find funding. So please vote for the bumbles - click here, NOW!

Or depending on your browser setting you may be able to vote below:

You can follow the Shrill Carder conservation work on Pippa's blog

Pippa the film star!

A wonderful video of a recent talk about bee declines given by Dr. Pippa Rayner, our Conservation Officer (England and Wales). The talk was given at the 'Wildlife Sightings' event to the Pembrokeshire Marine Code Group and the Pembrokeshire Outdoor Charter Group. We very much hope that we have been successful in encouraging sympathetic management in this important area. The Shrill Carder Bee (along with other UKBAP bumblebee species) is thriving in parts of Pembrokeshire due to wonderful species-rich grasslands.

The Plight of the Bumblebee from Tom Luddington on Vimeo.

You can follow Pippa's work on the Bumblebee Habitat Project at her blog

Bumblebee Socks - the perfect gift!

Declining bumblebees throught the UK will be helped by the sale of these trendy socks.

The stripey socks are being sold by MandMDirect.com, with St Trinian's actress Tamsin Egerton adding her support to the campaign. 100% of profits go to BBCT.

A pack of three pairs (pictured) is only £9.99 - a snip!

We think they look rather good!

Please support us, warm your feet, and become the envy of your friends by buying some today!

Visit www.mandmdirect.com for more information.

A Bumper Year for the Great Yellow

The Great Yellow Bumblebee, one of Britain’s rarest bee species, has bucked recent gloomy trends and had a bumper summer in Scotland this year. BBCT have been involved in a project to try to save the species (more info...) and hope that this is the start of good times ahead for the Great Yellow.

The Great Yellow was once widespread throughout the UK, but as agricultural practices became more intensive, the lights started to go out for the bee. This left the far north and west of Scotland as the last refuge for this beautiful and charismatic species. However, after a couple of poor years, 2009 has finally provided cause for cautious optimism. Very good numbers of the Great Yellow Bumblebee have been recorded this year in Orkney and in north Highland, the last UK mainland population.

It is not too late to spot the species this year, and areas with knapweed, one of their favourite flowers, are good places to look. It’s a distinctive creature, golden-yellow with a signature band of black fur between the wings (see photo). If you think you see one, take a photo, and send it in gyb@bumblebeeconservation.org.

As well as doing well in most of its known haunts, the Great Yellow has been discovered nesting further south on the UK mainland this year than it has in nearly 30 years. This discovery, near Lybster, on the east Caithness coast, was made by our Scottish Conservation Officer, Bob Dawson, who said:

“This is a modest, but significant extension of the known range southwards. We suspect that the Great Yellow Bumblebee may have been present in this area before, but with more interest and awareness now in the Great Yellow Bumblebee, interesting and important records like this are turning up. There is even the tantalising possibility that the Great Yellow Bumblebee could recolonise the Moray and Aberdeenshire coasts.”

Warm weather has also played its part. Dr Dawson added:

“The good summer up here has certainly helped with finding bees, which wouldn’t have been possible without the help of farmers and landowners allowing access to flower-rich crops and other suitable, flower-rich areas. Our observations have cemented earlier, pioneering work of bumblebee experts in the area, so we now have a firmer idea of where the bees are, which is essential for directing further conservation effort. People have been really pleased to find they are hosting not just the rare Great Yellow Bumblebee on their land, but a whole range of other species as well.”

There have been further important finds this year by Paul Castle, Highland Council North Sutherland Ranger, who has been involved with the Great Yellow Bumblebee for several years:

"2009 has been an exciting summer, finding the Great Yellow Bumblebee at two previously unrecorded sites at Melvich and Reay along the north coast. These new sites mean we have now linked the Caithness and Sutherland populations. It was particularly pleasing following last season when, despite searching, I never saw a single Great Yellow Bumblebee! It's great to know this vulnerable mainland population is able to recover from an apparently disastrous season."

Dave Jones, the RSPB's Caithness Reserves Site Manager commented:

"We are delighted that the Great Yellow Bumblebee has also been found on the RSPB's new Broubster Leans reserve in Caithness. This is a further indication of the Broubster Lean's biodiversity and the importance of the reserve. The RSPB looks forward to working closely with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to conserve the Great Yellow Bumblebee and the other species that depend on the distinctive flower-rich habitat."

Everyone can do their bit to help bumblebees. Gardeners can provide cottage garden plants for them to feed on throughout the year (more info...), whilst farmers and land managers can use options through the new agri-environment schemes (more info...). The pollen and nectar-rich habitats that can be created will be invaluable in further boosting populations of this rare bumblebee.

Bumblebee idenification walks

We've recently added details of forthcoming bumblebee identification walks to this page. Walks are planned for Leicester, High Wycombe, Glamorgan, Kent and Salisbury Plain.

Look in the side bar on the left for further details, and please contact us if you'd like to attend.

The Short-haired Bumblebee reintroduction project

Today sees our latest project unveiled to the World's media. The short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) is extinct in the UK, last seen in 1988. We are working with partners to reintroduce it from New Zealand.

It was originally exported from the UK to New Zealand on the first refrigerated lamb boats in the late 19th Century to pollinate clover crops. Although extinct in the UK, populations on the other side of the world have survived. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is working in partnership with Natural England, RSPB and Hymettus to bring the species home.

Read more about the project here, or follow it's progress on Nikki's blog.

News from over the pond

The problems with pollinators here in the UK are mirrored elsewhere in Europe and North America. This video from the USA illustrates the problem (and potential solutions) beautifully.

Thumbs up to Xerces for their important work. Maybe we can learn some lessons here in the UK from the situation over there. Note the emphasis on the provision of habitat...

Habitat Aid goes LIVE! (06/05/09)

Habitat Aid is a new web-based company selling high quality products which enhance or regenerate our vanishing native habitats. Half of the profits they make go to specialist charities working to protect and promote biodiversity in Britain, including BBCT. So at both levels they are promoting all-important habitat improvements.

The charities they support are directly related to the products on sale. Chose from a great selection of plants and seeds, native trees and shrubs, traditional orchard trees, plants and kit for aquatic environments, nest boxes and refuges, mixed hedges and hedging plants and traditional tools

Visit the Habitat Aid website to learn more.

Funding boost for pollinator research (21/04/09)

Up to £10 million is to be invested to help to identify the main threats to bees and other insect pollinators, under a project announced today.

Bumblebees are one of our most important pollinators and are essential for the pollination of vital crops and therefore the food on our plates. Our colourful wild flowers also need pollinators, and without them many could disappear. Wild solitary bees, butterflies, hoverflies and more besides also have an important role to play which deserves wider recognition. Many pollinator groups have declined in recent years, with bumblebees among those struggling.

At a time when disease is decimating managed honeybee populations it is more important than ever that we look after our wild pollinators.

Some of the UK's major research funders have joined together to launch a new research programme. They argue that "the biggest challenge will be to develop a better understanding of the complex relationships between biological and environmental factors which affect the health and lifespan of pollinators".

There is a considerable body of evidence suggesting that a lack of habitat within the farmed landscape has already been identified is an important factor. Pollinator communities need an integrated landscape-scale approach to sensitive management. This is most certainly the case for bumblebees.

We hope that such a significant investment in research will be matched by a similar investment in the implementation of existing research outputs, which point to the provision of habitat for pollinators within the farmed landscape as a priority.

More information here...

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