The restoration of the short-haired bumblebee to South-East England, UK

Summary

The short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), declared extinct in the UK in 2000 after its last sighting near Dungeness in 1988, survived only as an introduced population in New Zealand and a genetically distinct, increasing population in southern Sweden. A partnership of Natural England, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Hymettus and the RSPB began restoring flower-rich foraging habitat around Dungeness and Romney Marsh from 2000, reaching over 1,000 hectares by 2015, sufficient to support a reintroduction. An initial plan to source bees from New Zealand faltered after 2009-2011 captive-rearing attempts showed poor results and genetic studies revealed inbreeding and a founder base poorly matched to historic English populations, prompting a switch to wild queens from Skåne, Sweden, whose DNA more closely matched museum specimens from England. From 2012, up to 100 hibernating queens were collected annually from Sweden, health-screened, quarantined at Royal Holloway University of London, and released each June at RSPB Dungeness, from where they can disperse 16-24 km. Volunteer-run monitoring across 30 transects confirmed worker bees, evidence of successful nesting, in three consecutive years, though new queens and males have not yet been detected. The expanded habitat has also benefited other rare bumblebees, several of which extended their range or reappeared after long absences. The project rates itself successful so far, though noting it remains too early to judge full restoration, crediting a dedicated project manager and volunteers, strong landowner engagement, secure funding, and early genetic screening that led to a better-matched source population.