Many of Britain’s rarest wild bees are in deep trouble, which is a cause for great environmental wellness concern. This is according to a study commissioned by Friends of the Earth, which was published this month. The study argues that intensive farming and urban sprawl – which have decimated the flowery meadows that bees feed in – are the main culprits behind the decline.
The report focused on 12 key species across Britain. According to bee expert Prof Simon Potts, at the University of Reading, who led the study, ‘The way we farm and use land across the UK has pushed many rare bees into serious decline. I’m calling on the government to act swiftly to save these iconic creatures which are essential to a thriving environment and our food supply.’
The study discovered that, on the south coast of England, the range of the solitary potter flower bee, which digs burrows to lay eggs in, has shrunk dramatically, while Britain’s rarest solitary bee, the large mason bee, is on the brink of extinction in Wales. Moreover, the great yellow bumblebee has disappeared from 80% of its historic UK range and now relies on the unique machair habitat in western Scotland, a flower-rich grassland.
In the report, Potts writes, ‘The most pervasive causes of bee species decline are to be found in the way our countryside has changed in the past 60 years. Intensification of grazing regimes, an increase in pesticide use, loss of biodiverse field margins and hedgerows, the trend towards sterile monoculture, insensitive development and the sprawl of towns and cities are the main factors in this.’
Sandra Bell, at Friends of the Earth, commented, ‘We need a bee action plan now. These bee species are in real trouble. But people across the UK can help change all that with simple practical actions and by urging their MPs to play their part.’ On the 29th of April, the European Union agreed to suspend Europe’s use of three neonicotinoid insecticides, but the report warns that the ban, which UK ministers opposed, will not reverse bee decline unless the other causes are also dealt with.
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