[Pollinator] UK bees recovery -- story from 2010

Tue Nov 3 17:11:59 PST 2015

Hi, just pointing out that the lovely success story from the UK about the
recovery of 5 bee species is from 2010 -- that's 5 years ago. To me, it
was presented as if it was recent, which can be misleading. A lot can
change in 5 years.

Tamara

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>    1. UK's five rarest bumblebees make a comeback (Matthew Shepherd)
>
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2015 15:50:50 -0700
> From: Matthew Shepherd <mdshepherd at xerces.org>
> To: pollinator at lists.sonic.net
> Subject: [Pollinator] UK's five rarest bumblebees make a comeback
> Message-ID: <ea2f4a95cd6b2ce617339a96a7bbcd3f at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Nice to have a bit of good news about bumble bees from Britain.
>
>
>
> Matthew
>
>
>
> **********************
>
>
>
> FROM: The Guardian (London)
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/05/bumblebee-comeback-uk#_
>
>
>
>
> UK's five rarest bumblebees make a comeback
>
> Conservationists say wildlife-friendly farming schemes in Kent and East
> Sussex have restored habitats that support endangered species
>
> *Press Association*
>
> Tuesday 5 October 2010 05.42 EDTLast modified on Monday 19 May 201422.40
> EDT
>
> England's five rarest bumblebees have made a comeback in a former
> stronghold thanks to wildlife-friendly farming that aims to support an
> extinct
> bee being reintroduced from New Zealand
> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/01/wildlife-conservation>,
> conservationists said today.
>
> The five threatened species, including the shrill carder bee
> <http://www.arkive.org/shrill-carder-bee/bombus-sylvarum/> which is
> England's rarest bumblebee, have spread their geographic range in the
> south-east as a result of environmental schemes in Dungeness and Romney
> Marsh.
>
> Around 50 farms in the area have been working since January 2009 to
> restore
> habitats suitable for the short-haired bumblebee ahead of its
> reintroduction from New Zealand where it was taken more than a hundred
> years ago ? and survived while becoming extinct here.
>
> The project to bring back the species, which was transported to the other
> side of the world in the 19th century to pollinate red clover grown to
> feed
> sheep, was delayed after captured bees died in hibernation.
>
> But the work to improve habitats in the area ahead of the short-haired
> bumblebee's eventual release has already had a positive effect on
> threatened species which are still found in the area, the wildlife experts
> said.
>
> The five bumblebee species ? the large garden bumblebee, the shrill carder
> bee, the shanked carder bee, the moss carder bee and the brown banded
> carder bee ? have all increased their ranges in Kent and East Sussex this
> summer after decades of decline.
>
> The shrill carder bee has been seen in areas where it has not been
> recorded
> for 25 years, according to the groups running the project.
>
> The scheme by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
> <http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/>, bee charity Hymettus
> <http://hymettus.org.uk/>, government conservation agency Natural England
> <http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/> and the RSPB <http://www.rspb.org.uk/>
> has
> involved local farmers and other landowners in creating habitats for bees
> under agri-environment schemes.
>
> The measures include putting in pollen and nectar-rich flower margins to
> fields, growing red clover hay meadows and rotating the grazing of animals
> on land.
>
> Project leader Dr Nikki Gammans said: "We embarked on this project so that
> we could create the right conditions to bring the short-haired bumblebee
> back to the UK ? but an added benefit is that it has provided a real boost
> to these five threatened species.
>
> "We hoped that we would begin to see results like this for these species
> but we really didn't expect to see it quite so quickly. It's a great
> result, and one we're very excited about."
>
> She said the south of Kent used to have more species of bumblebee than any
> other area of the UK until populations declined in the second half of the
> 20th century.
>
> Today's news was particularly heartening, she said, given declines of bees
> in the UK as a whole and the impact that could have on pollination of
> crops
> ranging from tomatoes to peas.
>
> Environment minister Richard Benyon said: "Bumblebees play a vital role in
> helping to produce our food by pollinating crops."
>
> "The decline in the number of bees is a concern for the long-term future
> of
> farming, so it is great to hear that the creation of these wildlife
> habitats has resulted in increased numbers of so many species of rare
> bumblebees.
>
> "These results show the benefit of agri-environment schemes and the role
> farmers play in protecting and improving our wildlife."
>
> Conservation <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/conservation> groups
> fear agri-environment schemes, which pay farmers to manage their land in
> ways that is good for wildlife, could be at risk from the spending cuts
> which will be announced later this month.
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Masters' of Environmental Studies Candidate
Environment and Resource Studies
University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada