A conservation charity has called for action to ensure the survival of one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees.
The Great Yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) is so rare just five populations areas remain in the UK, all of which are in Scotland.
Like many bumblebee species the population has crashed over the last 80 years.
According to UK-based wildlife charity The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the remaining fragments of the mainland population of the Great Yellow are in urgent need of attention as they continue to decline.
However, knowledge of how to ensure the survival of the Great Yellow has recently been boosted thanks to road verge surveys in the far north of Scotland.
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The Trust, which was established in 2006 due to serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’, said that road verge surveys in Caithness have highlighted their importance in connecting one of the last remaining mainland populations of the iconic species.
The surveys, carried out in 2023, revealed "significant potential for habitat improvement", according to the charity.
The work was supported by Highland Titles, a Ballachulish-based company which offers souvenir plots of land that support Scottish conservation and rewilding.
The Trust is now recommending significant changes to the current road verge management regime, requiring the purchase of new machinery which will both cut the verges and collect the cut vegetation at the same time.
According to the Trust, the benefits of this type of management has multiple benefits to biodiversity and for the economy.
Katy Malone, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Scotland Conservation Projects Manager, said: "The north coasts of Sutherland and Caithness were former strongholds for the iconic Great Yellow bumblebee, which needs abundant flower-rich habitat from June to September.
"Sadly in a recent survey, we found very few Great Yellows left in Sutherland and fewer than expected in Caithness. I fear that if action is not taken soon to reconnect the remaining populations, we will lose this species from the mainland completely.”
Andrew Doyle, Plantlife Conservation Officer Road Verges and Green Spaces, said: “This new report from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust is a crucial first step in working collaboratively to manage road verges for nature in Caithness.
"By seizing the opportunities provided by our road verges we can create a thriving, connected network of wildflower-rich habitats that deliver benefits to climate and the local community.
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"At Plantlife we aim to support, empower, and enable key stakeholders such as local councils and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help make this change possible across the UK.”
Douglas Wilson, CEO Highland Titles, said: “The results from the survey are clear: we need to take action. Connecting and managing the road verges in a sensitive way is going to be crucial to our efforts and we have to start making changes now to help a much loved and iconic species."
Katy Malone added: “Managing the road verges in a way that both benefits nature and balances road safety is a key part of the plan. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is committed to working with the Highland Council to achieve these joint aims and make Caithness a place where bumblebees and other essential pollinators can thrive.
"The ground work has been done – we know what we need to do – we just need to get on and do it. We are calling on anyone who wants to see this kind of change in their own area to get in touch so that we can discuss if we can add your local verges into the plan.”
The UK is currently home to 24 species of bumblebees. Over the past century two others have become extinct, and several of the remining species are now extremely rare, including the Shrill carder bumblebee and Great Yellow bumblebee, both now threatened with national extinction.
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