Highland Council Ranger Discovers New Site For Rare Bumblebee

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. 

Paul Castle, The Highland Council’s North Sutherland Ranger, has been involved with the Great Yellow Bumblebee for several years and this year has discovered two previously unrecorded sites for this rare Bumblebee at Melvich and Reay along the north coast

Delighted with his discovery, Paul said: "2009 has been an exciting summer for bumblebees.  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."

Conservationists at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust have been involved in a project to try to save the species and hope that this is the start of good times ahead for the Great Yellow.

Recent decades have seen dramatic declines in bumblebee populations, with two species nationally extinct and several others threatened. Habitat loss severely affected many species, and by the time beneficial mechanisms like agri-environment schemes were in place, bumblebees had disappeared from many areas. 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 among bee conservationists. Very good numbers of the Great Yellow Bumblebee have been recorded this year in Orkney and in north Highland, the last UK mainland population.

Paul added: “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.”

Everyone can do their bit to help bumblebees.  Gardeners can provide cottage garden plants for them to feed on throughout the year, whilst crofters and land managers can use options through the new agri-environment schemes.  The pollen and nectar-rich habitats that can be created will be invaluable in further boosting populations of this rare bumblebee.  More information on the project and how you can help can be found at www.bumblebeeconservation.org.