The cold, windswept shores of Loch Leven in Perth and Kinross might seem an unlikely place to find large numbers of bees, but thanks to a joint effort between the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BCT) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland, they are now home to the world’s first bumblebee sanctuary.

The UK has 25 species of bumblebee, three of which are already nationally extinct, with several others severely threatened by the loss of habitats such as meadows, grassland and clover-rich leys (arable land used temporarily for hay or grazing). Bees are important pollinators, their daily flights aiding in the reproduction of more than half of the world’s flowering plants. But an unprecedented decline of numerous species across Europe and the USA has placed the health of ecosystems and the sustainability of crops in peril.

‘Wildflowers and crops alike depend on the hard work of our endearing bumblebees, but sadly many species are now under threat,’ said Dr Ben Darvill, director of the BCT. ‘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'.

The reserve - a wildflower meadow serviced by a specially created visitors' trail - has been created on Vane Farm, part of the broader Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. It has already attracted several species of bumblebee, including the rare blaeberry bumblebee, as well as butterflies, hoverflies and other invertibrates, which are, in turn, enticing birds to the site.

October 2008