World’s First Bumblebee Sanctuary

Any regular readers of our blog will know that the MM LRC staff is particularly interested in the plight of Britain’s bees. (Click here and here for previous bee posts) This morning while I was enjoying my usual bowl of porridge oats (with copious amounts of honey on top, of course), I heard BBC breakfast announce that the world’s first bumblebee sanctuary has been created by conservationists in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

The meadow was created by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) in partnership with RSPB Scotland. The flowery meadow at the Vane Farm nature reserve beside Loch Leven is already attracting several rare and threatened species and hundreds of bumblebees are already buzzing from flower to flower in the meadow. The meadow has also attracted butterflies, hoverflies and other insects – and the abundant bug life is benefiting the swallows and skylarks which feed on them.

Why is the conservation site important? Well, habitat loss has already led to the extinction of three species of Bumblebee in Britain, and several more are severely threatened. Traditional British habitats like hay meadows and clover leys are now seldom seen in today’s farmland, leaving little for bumblebees to feed on, so both farmers and conservationists need to do what they can to help.

For information about visiting the conservation area yourself visit the RSPB guide to Vane Farm.

posted by Brooke