'Extinct' bumblebee returns to UK

A species of bee not seen in the UK for a quarter of a century is being reintroduced to the countryside.

The short-haired bumblebee was once widespread across the south of England but it vanished in 1988.

However, after a healthy stock of the bees was found in Sweden, conservationists were able to collect some to seed a new UK colony.

About 50 queen bumblebees are being released at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve in Kent.

Nikki Gammans, from the Short-haired Bumblebee Project, said: "Normally, extinction means a species is gone forever.

"But it is magnificent that we can bring back this bee species and give it a second chance here in the UK."

The loss of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) was caused by the dramatic decline of wildflower meadows that occurred after World War II as agriculture intensified to feed the growing population.

It is estimated that 97% of Britain's flower-rich grasslands, which the bees needed to forage and thrive, has vanished over the past 70 years.

The short-haired bumblebee was hit hard by the loss of wildflower meadows in the UK
But in southern Sweden, the species is doing much better as fewer people live there and farming practices are more bee-friendly.

Fuzzy buzzers

• Bumblebees are vital pollinators of wild flowers and crops. They appear to be particularly effective at pollinating tomato plants; the frequency of their buzz releases a cloud of pollen from the flowers, covering the bees' fuzzy bodies and the reproductive parts of other flowers. Some tomato-growers use pollination vibrators or even electric toothbrushes to mimic this effect.
• These large, robust members of the bee family visit flowers that are up to 2km from their hive. UK scientists recently found that the bees "optimise their journeys" - taking the shortest possible distance from one flower to another before returning to the hive.