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Published Date: 04 July 2009
NEVER having seen so many bumblebees before in my life as this year, including more than 80 together on one small bush, I was surprised to read that they are "facing extinction" (your report, 2 July).
I was also interested to read that they are mainly now confined to nature reserves after "being isolated" by intensively farmed land, since I was under the impression that under 10 per cent of Scotland's land area was intensively farmed.

There is no doubt an underlying truth somewhere in the study, but, as reported, it does little to give me confidence in the scientific validity of such exercises.

HECTOR MacLEAN

Balnaboth

Kirriemuir, Angus





The full article contains 113 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 03 July 2009 8:46 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Slioch,

Scottish Highlands 04/07/2009 00:34:21
I would agree with Mr MacLean that this appears to be an exceptionally good year for bumble bees. Honey bees also seem to be doing far better this year than expected after two dreadful years. No doubt both these events are weather related.

But there are many species of bumble bee and the ones Mr Maclean has been seeing are likely to belong to the commoner species. The rarer species include those whose range is far less extensive and it is these that tend to suffer from "being isolated". The present abundance of common species of bumble bee does not imply that the rarer species are no longer "facing extinction".
2

Martinh,

04/07/2009 08:52:20
My garden front and back is alive with bumble bees, but then I actively encourage bird and insects by appropriate planting. The disappearance of bumble bees in urban areas may be more due to the modern disease of householders who are uninterested in gardening, paving over the front for their biscuit tin on wheels, with a low maintenance biological desert at the back devoid of polinating insects.

We used to have honey bees too many years ago, but these have now vanished completely.
3

Slioch,

Scottish Highlands 04/07/2009 11:36:19
Incidentally, the "80 together on one small bush" that Mr MacLean reports my well have been cuckoo bumble bees, which tend to be lethargic and easy to count. Counting 80 ordinary bumbles would be quite a feat (though possible with a digital camera).

Cuckoo bumble bees behave like cuckoos, parasitising other bumble bees: not altogether good news for their host species. I too have noticed many of these this year.
4

Mark Boyle,

Johnstone 04/07/2009 12:17:40
I have spent the last 48 sweltering hours throwing out both Buff Tailed and Red Tipped bumble bees from my house that had grown bored with treating my pocket sized back garden as a nectar fast-food restaurant. The moment the torrential rain stopped, they were the first insects back out again (okay, as well as the midges!)

Bumble bees are one of God's gifts to gardeners due to their strong pollenating abilities (since a large part of their hairy little bodies gets covered in pollen as they go from plant to plant), and the fact all the gardens in my locality are giving the Botanics a run for their money this year suggests that we seem to be having an abundance of our fat little friends, not a dearth.

 

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