Species Knowledge Review: Shrill Carder Bee Bombus Sylvarum in England and Wales
Species Knowledge Review: Shrill carder bee Bombus sylvarum in England and Wales Editors: Sam Page, Richard Comont, Sinead Lynch, and Vicky Wilkins. Bombus sylvarum, Nashenden Down nature reserve, Rochester (Kent Wildlife Trust) (Photo credit: Dave Watson) Executive summary This report aims to pull together current knowledge of the Shrill carder bee Bombus sylvarum in the UK. It is a working document, with a view to this information being reviewed and added when needed (current version updated Oct 2019). Special thanks to the group of experts who have reviewed and commented on earlier versions of this report. Much of the current knowledge on Bombus sylvarum builds on extensive work carried out by the Bumblebee Working Group and Hymettus in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, there have been a few key studies such as genetic research by Ellis et al (2006), Stuart Connop’s PhD thesis (2007), and a series of CCW surveys and reports carried out across the Welsh populations between 2000 and 2013. Distribution and abundance Records indicate that the Shrill carder bee Bombus sylvarum was historically widespread across southern England and Welsh lowland and coastal regions, with more localised records in central and northern England. The second half of the 20th Century saw a major range retraction for the species, with a mixed picture post-2000. Metapopulations of B. sylvarum are now limited to five key areas across the UK: In England these are the Thames Estuary and Somerset; in South Wales these are the Gwent Levels, Kenfig–Port Talbot, and south Pembrokeshire. The Thames Estuary and Gwent Levels populations appear to be the largest and most abundant, whereas the Somerset population exists at a very low population density, the Kenfig population is small and restricted.
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