Guardian seminar

I was sent a cutting from The Guardian at the end of last year, about a Guardian seminar with Natural England regarding 'ecosystem services'.  This coincided with the launch of a new report, "No Charge? Valuing the Natural Environment". One of the participants stated that "bees are a vital part of the supply chain, yet the story is always told like it's a shame they are vanishing but only really relevant if you work in an orchard…how much would it cost to make an artificial bee? Where is the sense of panic that this vital part of the supply chain is going missing?". I am guessing that the participant was using 'bees' to refer to honeybees only, which are important and have been in trouble, but our wild bees also carry out a lot of pollination, a word strangely absent from the Natural England report. The statement seems borne of frustration, but I can't help feel concerned. An implication is that if wildlife doesn't provide an 'ecosystem service', or at least one that that we can assign a financial value to, then does this mean it's not worth protecting?  At the conference, it was acknowledged that this simplistic 'balance-sheet' approach was controversial but something may have to change, perhaps, as one participant suggested, to ensure that the environment is treated as infrastructure and invested in accordingly.

I am happy to report, however, that the story is not "always told like it's a shame they are vanishing…".   True, many bumblebee species have declined, but there is so much more interest and awareness now.  The work we are doing with Great Yellow Bumblebee, together with other organisations, local groups and communities, shows that there is scope for good news, and though there is a lot still to be done, the signs are promising.  Perhaps some 'Great Yellow Bumblebee' merchandising or wildlife tours could allow someone to attach a financial value to it, and at least one crofter on South Uist is in possession of Great Yellow Bumblebee-pollinated broad beans!  However, the Great Yellow Bumblebee is one of a number of rare species that we have an international obligation to protect.  This means supporting the habitats and landscapes that support these bees, the 'ecosystem approach', and much more wildlife besides - there are solutions out there!

 

2010 - International Year of Biodiversity

Happy New Year!  December finished with a flurry of activity, and I spent a fascinating day with Dr. Paul Williams of the Natural History Museum (and BBCT Trustee).  In the grounds of the museum, Buff-tailed Bumblebee workers were busy at the flowering Mahonia, while the nearby outdoor ice rink bustled, evoking fond memories of learning to skate on a frozen canal in Ottawa, and sampling 'beaver tails'!  I saw other Buff-tailed Bumblebees using winter heathers (collecting pollen) and winter jasmine elsewhere in London.  I wonder if any of these nests survived the hard weather?

 

Paul showed me specimens of a wide range of species, including the now official 'lectotype' of Great Yellow Bumblebee, originally described by Morawitz in 1869.  Although the pattern of Great Yellow Bumblebee is distinctive among UK bumblebees, there are perhaps 20 or 30 species worldwide that look very similar - these all seem to be associated with grasslands.  The helpful black band between the wings seems to be the commonest single feature among all bumblebees - but we don't know why!  Among European bumblebees, Great Yellow Bumblebee is most similar genetically to Short-haired Bumblebee.  However, the evidence suggests that it is actually more similar to two North American species, Bombus borealis and Bombus appositus. Great Yellow has a current range that is more extensive than Short-haired, found across Eurasia, even as far as the Aleutian Islands.  It is also a more northern species and it, or an ancestor, may have benefited from the land bridge that formerly existed between Asia and North America.

 

 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/bombus/st.html

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/beringia2.html

 

Roadside seed mixes

Jane Mackintosh has sent an email regarding clover-sown road verges, similar to one I saw at Helmsdale.  These are in Midlothian on the new Dalkeith by-pass and by Rosewell. There were no flowers in November but very large leaves, suggesting an agricultural variety here also.  A search on the internet by Jane revealed that there is an official Department of Transport mixture for roadside use.  This is a mix for hard wear, with quick establishment, short growth, good root stability and improves fertility. Will tolerate road salt and exhaust fumes.  Mow as necessary or twice a year to 75-100mm.  For info, the mix is  25% Perennial ryegrass, 20% Creeping red fescue, 30% Hard fescue, 10% Smooth stalked meadow grass, 10% Brown top bent, 5% White clover.

The white clover is a popular bumblebee and honeybee flower, though the larger agricultural varieties may favour the longer-tongued species.  A low productivity, species-rich roadside verge habitat could be very useful in some areas, and Orkney has championed 'conservation verges', which are used there by great yellow bumblebee, among other species. However, the proximity of good bumblebee habitat to busy roads could be a problem, especially if the surrounding areas are very poor, thereby concentrating the bees in the best habitat patches.  The well-known charity fund-raiser Lloyd Scott, he of the Deep Sea Diver suit and the London Marathon, has recently completed a walk from Lands End to John O'Groats, and phoned in to say that the commonest roadkill, sadly, was bumblebees.  I think this shows that what we do to help bees in our gardens, parks and the wider countryside is important, and hopefully the impact of roads on our bumblebee numbers will be negligible.

 

North Coast Jewels

In August, Paul Castle, Highland Council North Sutherland Ranger, found and photographed Great Yellow Bumblebees at two new sites, each representing a new 10km square for the distribution.  This was fantastic news as it showed, for the first time, a link between the records at Bettyhill (Farr Glebe and other areas) and Scrabster by Thurso in Caithness, a distance of about 30 miles.  Paul found his first at Melvich in Sutherland, on 6th August, feeding at lesser knapweed.  This, and another one seen later in the month, were both workers, indicating an active nest in the area.  The photo is a little blurred as he was suffering the attentions of Scotland's finest, The Midge!  Melvich is at the far eastern end of one of Plantlife's Important Plant Areas, stretching from here all the way to Oldshoremore in the west, embracing all Sutherland's Great Yellow Bumblebee sites.  Paul followed this up with a worker and a male at Sandside Bay, by Reay in Caithness.  The extra yellow hairs on the face of the male are clearly visible in the photo.  I had looked at this site at the end of July, and found a good amount of knapweed, plus Broken-belted Bumblebee (which Paul also saw), so I am delighted that Great Yellow has been confirmed here.  Donald Mitchell, Highland Council North West Sutherland Ranger, also got in on the act, confirming - thankfully - Great Yellow Bumblebees in Durness this year, an area where the species may be particularly vulnerable.

 

A great boost in recording activity this year has seen a number of new 10km squares have been recorded with Great Yellow Bumblebee.  Other squares with old records have been visited and the bee found still to be present.  All this information is invaluable in maximising benefits to Great Yellow Bumblebee through agri-environment schemes.  It is also wonderful that more people are now familiar with the species, and can distinguish the different queen, worker and male castes. The north's good weather in August this year has certainly helped, as this month has peak numbers of Great Yellows. Hopefully there is now a healthy 'bank' of hibernating queens for 2010.  We will tot up the total number of occupied squares.  It will be a long way below the pre-1970 total of 158 squares (across the UK) determined by bee, wasp and ant expert Mike Edwards in a 1997 review for Scottish Natural Heritage, so this bee will definitely be remaining at its official 'Nationally Scarce b' status (between 31 and 100 occupied 10km squares in the UK).

 

An August deadline

Phew!  A busy couple of weeks before the end of August deadline for the latest round of agri-environment applications.  I've mainly been contacted regarding applications from within areas where Great Yellow Bumblebee is either present, or is likely to benefit.  There have been one or two for Moss Carder Bee as well, where the range does not overlap with Great Yellow, and one for an exciting business initiative to develop machinery and save time, money and fuel on preparing and sowing small areas.

Discovering the bee in new areas means that more farmers and crofters have been able to support this species on their application.  As a Species Action Framework priority species it ticks one of the Regional Priority boxes, but this alone will not be enough to succeed.  Ways to add value for great Yellow Bumblebee, over and above the minimum requirement, include a commitment to sowing a BBCT recommended mix if creating species-rich grassland (using Scottish provenance wild flower seed), and including Phacelia and red clover in cover crops.  I have also been making recommendations on grazing levels and stock exclusion periods, so that where practical, floral resources can be maximised (which helps the flowers set seed too).  So, in have gone nearly 50 applications that between them could contribute well over 500ha of habitat managed with benefit to Great Yellow Bumblebee, mainly in Orkney, Caithness, Coll and Tiree.  Although the number of applications has increased, and the pot of money is shrinking, we hope that the decisions of the various regional committees (RPACs) will see as many of these as possible accepted in November.  Fingers crossed we will hear some positive results before Christmas!  The next round has opened, with a closing deadline early in the new year, so more applications are arriving in my email inbox.

 

Mystery bee!

Nicky Redpath sent in this intriguing photo, of a bumblebee she found with Mike Peacock of RSPB on Oronsay, off the west coast.  This is a male, with long antennae (can almost see all 13 segments!).  As it is a male, it has no sting, so there is no problem at all resting it on her hand!  There is a superficial similarity with Great Yellow Bumblebee, but no hint of a 'pollen basket' on the largest segment of the hind leg, so this is a cuckoo bumblebee.  In fact, this is an unusual species for the west of Scotland, a Field Cuckoo Bumblebee Bombus campestris, typically associated with nests of the Common Carder Bee B. pascuorum.  Not only that, it is of the form 'swynnertoni' that I think is described only from Scotland.  On closer inspection, the yellow fur lacks the richer tones of Great Yellow, and it is rather thinly distributed and uneven, giving a 'straggly' look.  Where Great Yellow Bumblebee would have a band of black fur between the wings, this has black is mixed in with yellow hairs, so lacks a discrete band.  It is also rather short in the abdomen, giving a compact appearance not seen with male Great Yellow Bumblebee (though male bees have an extra segment here too!).

 

An excellent record nonetheless.  There are very few records for Scotland, most of which are from the east.  A few reported this year have including one at a Scotia Seeds Open Day in Angus, one on the Stirling University campus (unusually visiting a nest of White-tailed Bumblebee) and photos of good-looking candidates at the BBCT/RSPB Bumblebee Meadow at RSPB Vane Farm, and in an Edinburgh garden.

 

More photos received!

These are a couple of great photos received in late July and early August.  There is a fine photo from Lewis, by Martin Scott, RSPB Conservation Officer for the Western Isles.  Just twelve years ago, a review by bumblebee expert Mike Edwards showed that on the Isle of Lewis, there was a single report from the north tip, the Butt of Lewis (1974).  More recording, particularly by RSPB (joint UK Lead Partners for Great Yellow Bumblebee) has revealed population 'nuclei' between Bragar and the Butt of Lewis, but numbers remain low and fragmented.  This one is at creeping thistle. 

 

The other photo is a rare sight indeed - a mating pair of Great Yellow Bumblebees.  These were found at these ragwort flowers by Stirling University researcher Nicky Redpath.  Amazingly, this is the second pair she found this year!  The only other person we know of who has seen this event is bumblebee champion Bill Neill from South Uist, back in 1999, when males were seen congregating at the entrance to a nest, waiting for new queens to emerge.