EXTINCT SPECIES:SCIENTISTS PLAN to reintroduce the extinct short-haired bumblebee to Britain by capturing their cousins who were shipped to New Zealand 120 years ago and flying them back to the UK.
Dr Nikki Gammans, project officer at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, plans to rear New Zealand queen bees in captivity and release offspring in re-created wildflower meadow areas in Kent.
Bumblebees are in decline across Europe, including Ireland. This is affecting legume and fruit crop fertilisation and predator species, Dr Gammans said.
“Why is this happening? Since the end of the second World War, 98 per cent of wildflower habitat has been lost, primarily due to the intensification of farming and increased use of pesticides and herbicides,” she said.
The UK has 18 species of social bumblebees, seven of which are threatened, and two that have become extinct in the last 60 years.
This is a key issue, given that insect pollinators are estimated to be worth about €10.3 billion to the European economy, with a decline in crop yield a risk if pollinators are lost.
Four species of bumblebee had been brought to New Zealand to pollinate red clover, used as cattle fodder, and they did very well, Dr Gammans said.
Their descendants will be kept in hibernation for the return journey.
Scientists will check that their DNA is the same as their UK ancestors, and that they are not carrying disease.
Dr Gammans said Ireland would be a good place to reintroduce short-haired bumblebees.