Rye bumblebees
19th September 2007, WednesdayA survey undertaken for the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve this summer produced a very limited list of bumblebees. Just two species, the buff tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris and the white tailed bumblebee B.lucorum comprised 72% of the bumblebees encountered. These were particularly common on vipers bugloss. Next commonest was the velvety black Red tailed bumblebee B. lapidarius which was found most frequently on patches of birds foot trefoil. Small numbers of the common carder bee B. pascuorum, the garden bumblebee B. hortorum and the early-nesting bumblebee B. pratorum were also found. These are all the typical species you would expect to find commonly in the south-east. Highlights of the survey were the single queen of the recent colonist to the UK, B. hypnorum (reported here on 8 July 2007), and very small numbers of two uncommon species listed on the Governments Biodiversity Action Plan, the carder bees Bombus humilis and B. muscorum.
Both of these species are key conservation targets on the marsh and have declined on the marsh due to loss of flower rich pastures. They were found on a small patch of red clover sown on the flood bank near the reserve car park by the Environment Agency. Hopefully more legume-rich pasture will be established on the reserve in the coming years to give these species a more secure future. Although fewer species were found, total numbers of bumblebees seemed to be higher at Rye than at the Dungeness RSPB reserve this year, perhaps because at Dungeness the surveys are on grazing marsh pasture that is more vulnerable to flooding, in such a wet year.