BUMBLEBEES are not faring well.
Consider that there are currently 24
species in the UK with two others
having become extinct within the
last 70 years.
Of the remaining 24, only six could
be considered common and another six
are designated priority species in
recognition of the need for urgent
conservation action. Unless there is a
big change in our attitude to habitat
conservation, it might not
just be the bees that
suffer.
Bumblebees are
really important
pollinators of many
human food crops such
as broad, field and
runner beans and soft
fruit too. If the bumblebees decline so
do the yields, a situation that is already
apparent in some regions of Europe
where fields are large and hedgerows
few.
In addition, bumblebees are major
pollinators of many of our native
flowers which are essential to a whole
variety of other invertebrates and by
extrapolation birds and other animals.
Conserving them should be a priority
and that is just what the Bumblebee Conservation Trust was formed to do.
The Trust is based in the School of
Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Stirling and its
website, www.bumblebeeconservation.org, contains a mass of information
about bumblebee conservation and is
well worth a look.
One of the threats faced by some
species is that small populations can
become geographically isolated due to habitat loss. This can lead to
inbreeding and recent work carried out by
researchers at Stirling
University has shown
that as genetic diversity
is lost there is an
impact on the bees’ immune system. One
consequence of this is an increase in parasitic infections which could
ultimately threaten the survival of these
populations.
We have had a huge number of
bumblebees in our own garden over the
last few weeks. We have large patches of
Echinops or globe thistle in the
flowerbeds and now that these are in
full flower they are a great source of
nectar.
Earlier on it was scabious, teasel, and red campion that were the mainstay
of the bees and right back in the early
spring the flowering currant and then a
type of perennial cornflower kept them
sustained.
Foxglove, poppies and nasturtiums
are also good and I have to say that the
buzz from scores of bumblebees is as
satisfying as the colour of a host of
butterflies (which love the flowers
mentioned above too).
It is important to be aware that
some of the more ornamental bedding
plants beloved by gardeners in recent
years often produce little nectar and are
consequently not much use to bees.
Wild flowers and traditional cottage
garden flowers are much more wildlife
friendly (and I think much more
beautiful: I don’t like formality!).
It’s important to grow a variety of
different flowers because some
bumblebees have long tongues and
others short ones so their feeding habits
can be quite different. The website
mentioned above gives a whole list of
suitable flowers and shrubs for bees
which will also make your garden more
attractive to wildlife across the board.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust
was only founded in 2006 but already
has over 6,000 members. In September of this year it was voted Best
Environment Project 2010 at the
National Lottery Awards, some
achievement for such a young
organisation and a real tribute to the
tremendous research and educational
work that it does around the subject of
bumblebee conservation.
So go on-line and sign yourself up
for as little as £1 per month. You’ll get a
free bumblebee identification poster, a
packet of wildflower seeds, a newsletter,
and more. You’ll also find out just how
addictive bumblebees can become and
you’ll get renewed pleasure from seeing
them in your own garden.
