Shrill Carder Bee Project

In light of this, an exciting project was undertaken to conserve this charismatic bee in England. Buglife working in partnership with the  Bumblebee Conservation Trust  as part of the ground breaking ‘Back from the Brink’ Programme.

The project focused on the two areas of England where Shrill carder bee still occurs: Somerset & Wiltshire and the Thames Gateway. The main aims of the project were to:

• Establish the current distribution of Shrill carder bee in England
• Set up bumblebee monitoring at key Shrill carder bee sites through volunteer recruitment and training
• Provide habitat management advice to land managers to improve habitat connectivity
• Engage with local communities to raise the profile of the bee
• Produce a species recovery plan for Shrill carder bee

Shrill carder bee facts

• Scientific name: Bombus sylvarum
• One of the rarest bumblebee species in Britain
• Shrill carder bees have a distinctive high-pitched buzz
• Shrill carder bee colonies have around 50-70 workers
• Forage plants include Black horehound, Narrow-leaved bird’s-foot trefoil and Red clover
• This is a long-tongued bumblebee species