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<DIV><FONT size=2>From BBC News, <A
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6909249.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6909249.stm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Sunday, 7/22/07</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV class=sh><STRONG>Gardens 'vital' for UK bumblebees
</STRONG></DIV></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD width="416" valign="top"><FONT size=2><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF --><STRONG>Gardens
are key habitats for the UK's nesting bumblebees, a survey suggests.</STRONG>
</FONT>
<P><FONT size=2>Scientists have found that the bees' nests are more likely to be
located in gardens than in habitats such as woodlands or grasslands. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The study, reported in the Journal of Applied Ecology, could aid
bumblebee conservation work. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The brightly coloured insects have suffered a dramatic drop in
numbers. In recent years, three species have become extinct in Britain. <!-- E SF --></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>And for at least five of the UK's 25 species, special measures
are being taken to stop their numbers falling further. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Scientists believe that finding out more about the animals'
habitats could help them to better understand and address some of the factors
responsible for the decline. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><B>Attractive sites</B> </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The British Bumblebee Nest Survey took place during the summer
of 2004. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Volunteers were asked to look at an area of their garden plus
one of six different countryside habitats for 20 minutes and to record whether
any bumblebee nests were present or not. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Juliet Osbourne, lead author of the paper from Rothamsted
Research, Hertfordshire, said: "Bumblebee nests are found underground or on the
surface in areas like long grass or compost heaps, and people were basically
looking for the traffic of bumblebees moving backwards and forwards from an
entrance." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><!-- S IBOX --><!-- E IBOX --></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The collated results from the 719 volunteers revealed that
gardens contained a high density of bumblebee nests - an average of 36 per
hectare. Hedgerows, fence lines and woodland edges had an average of 20-37 nests
per hectare; woodland and grassland habitats had the lowest densities (11-15
nests per hectare). </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Dr Osbourne said: "It shows that gardens are actually providing
a very good habitat for our bumblebees, and are actually quite a lot better than
some of the habitats in the countryside." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>She added that the findings were not unexpected as there were
many reasons why gardens were attractive nesting sites. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>"The diversity of garden features and gardening styles provide a
large variety of potential nesting sites compared to more uniform countryside
habitats," she explained: </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>"Areas with gardens have a high concentration of boundary
features, such as hedges, fences and garden buildings, which are suitable for
nesting." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Dr Osbourne added that gardeners could aid conservation efforts
by encouraging more bumblebees to their gardens. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>She said: "There is a lot people can do. They could just leave
an area where the grass isn't mowed or grow bright scented flowers throughout
March to September." </FONT></P></TD></TR></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT
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<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects the diversity of life through
invertebrate conservation. </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>To
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a </FONT></FONT><FONT
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