Rare bumblebee spreads its wings

Discovered on nature reserve near Stourport

September 2010: One of Britain's rarest and most endangered bumblebees has been discovered on a Worcestershire nature reserve. The severely threatened brown-banded carder bee is usually only found in small pockets in the South East but was recently discovered on a nature reserve near Stourport. Wilden Marsh, owned by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, consists of a series of wet meadows and woods in the floodplain of the River Stour between Stourport and Kidderminster.

RARE: The brown-banded carder bee normally makes its home in the South East of England-  but has now been found in Worcestershire.  Picture: Brett Westwood

The bees favour grasslands and meadows but are often found on brownfield sites due to the loss of this habitat in many areas. Although usually found in the south of England, they've also recently been discovered on Hartlebury Common and on an urban site in Herefordshire.

Not quite a unicorn - but it's close
Brett Westwood, one of those who discovered them, explains: ‘The brown-banded carder bee isn't quite a unicorn but, in Worcestershire, it comes pretty close. Finding this rare ginger teddy-bear of the bee world at Wilden Marsh was one of the highlights of the year and is a vivid endorsement of the management by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

‘Careful grazing of the wet meadows has produced a succession of flowers throughout the summer and early autumn including bird's foot trefoil and comfrey, which the bees particularly like, and also the grassy tussocks in which they build their nests. At a time when bumblebees are in decline across the British landscape, to have this beautiful bee thriving in the county is very heartening.'

It's not easy to distinguish the brown-banded carder bee from common carder bees but they have a brownish band across the abdomen and lack black hairs on the side of the abdomen. Queen bees are about 1.5cm long and workers are slightly smaller.

Helen Woodman, Reserves Team Leader forWorcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: ‘We're really pleased that improvements we've recently carried out at Wilden Marsh have resulted in lots of flowers; making it possible for this bee to survive here. The bees will be around into the autumn if the warm weather continues and need a good selection of late-flowering plants.'