An extinct species of bumblebee has been successfully reintroduced to the UK following a conservation scheme and support from local farmers and landowners.
Short-haired bumblebees disappeared from the UK in 1988, as its habitat was lost and numbers declined until it was officially declared extinct in 2000.
But now conservationists at the RSPB’s Dungeness nature reserve in Kent, where the reintroduction scheme is taking place, say they have seen three worker bees over four consecutive days.
Every year since 2012, researchers have collected short-haired bumblebee queens from Sweden, where they are found in good numbers, and released them at the reserve.
Consistent sightings of workers bees over the past three years shows that the queens have successfully nested and are finding enough food to build colonies, conservationists said.
The scheme is backed by local farmers and landowners in the Dungeness and Romney Marsh areas, who manage 1,000 hectares of flower-rich habitats for bees.
“Populations of at least three other rare bumblebees are now found in locations across the release zone not recorded in for over 10 years and their abundance is increasing across south Kent and East Sussex,” said The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s project manager, Dr Nikki Gammans.
“This is a thrilling discovery and shows that conservation for bumblebees really can work.”
The reintroduction scheme is run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the RSPB, Natural England and Hymettus.
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