Bumblebee lost to UK makes comeback on Dungeness shingle

Natural History Museum scientist leads reintroduction of Bombus subterraneus with insects imported from Sweden
Bombus subterraneus, bumble bee
Bombus subterraneus, a bumble bee last seen in Britain in 1988. Farmers and conservationists are working to help an introduced colony breed in Kent. Photograph: Alamy




"We hope, we believe, this is the absolutely perfect spot for them," Gammans said. "It has everything they like. There is no reason why they shouldn't thrive – they're pretty tough girls.

"This is a flagship project, a scientific first, but also a symbol that it isn't all hopeless: we don't have to stand by helplessly watching species and habitat being lost."






His task involved capturing a bumblebee, imprisoning it in a small plastic tub and letting it bash the pollen off its hind legs on to a little sponge. A morning's work collected barely enough pollen to cover the bottom of a pot, and the captured bees have been extremely cross about their contribution to science.




"My farmers are brilliant," Gammans said. "In some cases they haven't formally joined agri-stewardship schemes, but they're just doing it. It's a return to a more traditional way, the way they remember farming was when they were children, and they've really gone for it."



"And they do have very short hair, bless them – their poor little abdomens look quite bald."

This article was amended on 28 May 2012 to correct one reference to the short-tailed bumblebee to its correct common name, the short-haired bumblebee.