The world's first bumblebee sanctuary
This wonderful sight is the world's first bumblebee sanctuary. The 20 acre meadow is in Perth and Kinross, beside Loch Leven, and was created in a partnership between BBCT and RSPB Scotland. It was originally a field of grass, but was ploughed and sown with a wildflower seed mix, which was kindly funded by SNH. The site is now managed by RSPB and the wall-to-wall perennial wildflowers are proving to be a big hit with local bumblebee populations, which are thriving. Visitors to the RSPB's Vane Farm nature reserve can enjoy the meadow too! |
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This beautiful photograph (taken by John Watson) shows the rare blaeberry bumblebee. This species, as the name suggests, is an upland bee specialising on blaeberry, heathers and the like. However, during gaps between flowering times it can struggle to find food. To our delight, during June and July of this year, the meadow was alive with happy looking blaeberry bumblebees! They had flown down from the nearby hills to feed on the flowers that we'd provided for them. |
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BBCT is a new charity with big ambitions. We'd like to see habitats like this across the UK, for bees, birds and humans to enjoy. Please support our conservation work by joining today or making a donation |
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The meadow was first deep-ploughed to invert the soil profile and bury nutrients. This was an important step, as to establish a wild flower meadow it is necessary to ensure low soil fertility - otherwise competitive grasses will simply take over. We then sowed a seed mix (provided by Scotia Seeds). Further details can be found at the bottom of this page. |
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This photo, taken a month or so later, shows the seedlings appearing. At this stage we just had our fingers crossed in the hope that everything would establish well. |
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Believe it or not, just a few short weeks later the meadow looked like this! The annual poppies and cornflowers had flourished, and produced an incredible splash of colour that could be seen from miles around! These wildflower species aren't the best for bumblebees, but were still much appreciated by local bumblebee populations. In autumn the meadow was cut, and the material removed - again, to reduce soil fertility. |
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In its second year (2008), the meadow looked altogether different. Although less visually stunning, the habitat shown here is as close to bumblebee heaven as we could possibly have hoped for! The clovers, vetches and trefoils provide abundant nectar and high-quality pollen, and are favourite forage plants with many bumblebee species. These plants were common in farmland until recently, but the loss of clover leys and hay meadows mean that they (and the bumblebees that rely on them) are now scarce. |
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The Seed Mix |
You may be interested in creating habitat like this on your own land - we certainly hope so! The good news is you may be eligible for financial subsidies - our advice page has more details. It is important to ensure that the right wildflowers are planted to ensure maximum benefit for the bumblebees. Some flowers are much better than others, and of course they all flower at different times of year. The mix we chose is shown on the right. If you'd like to know more about how to create habitats for bumblebees on your land, please contact us for free advice and information. |
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