Shrill Carder Bee Project

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 (Ballota nigra), Narrow-leaved Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus tenuis) and Red Clover (Trifolium pratense).
• This is a long-tongued bumblebee species.