Bumblebee Survey

Why record bumblebees?

Bumblebees are poorly recorded in Scotland, and the present survey sets out to try and fill this gap in our knowledge. Bumblebees are important pollinators in the countryside, but modem farming methods, with their reliance on chemicals, are having a detrimental effect on these insects and many of our bees are declining. Some farmers have taken to buy in and release specially reared bees to pollinate their crops, which again has a negative knock-on effect on our native bumblebees. The garden is an excellent place to start the study of bumblebees. Many gardens have between 5 and 7 species, and some lucky ones have more. Don’t be put off if you cannot identify all individuals right away. Start with the queens and gain some experience before tackling the workers and males. Look at the Identification Charts pages for photos and identification charts.
Please do make the effort to send in your records at the end of the year. All records will be acknowledged and BRISC will publish a yearly report on the findings, but the more records are submitted the better the report will obviously be.

What and when should you record?

All bees in a new location should be recorded. If you are recording your garden, we particularly want to have records of first and last dates when you see a particular species, first dates of workers and first dates of males, and it would be useful to have comments such as ‘seen regularly all June’. We also want records (with date and location) of any large numbers if they occur. It is always better to err on the generous side, when deciding what to record and what to send in. We don’t mind if we get lots!

The Recording form

Please use the form (right click on link to download in Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft Word format) for recording bumblebees, giving the required details of location and the species observed there. A grid reference, preferable to six figures, is desirable and essential for the rarer species. Feel free to photocopy any of the material in the pack. At the end of the season, please send the form/s in to your nearest Local Records Centre (up-to-date addresses and contacts are published in most issues of BRISC Recorder News and on the Local Record Centre page. Failing that, please email BRISC (see below) and we will advise on the appropriate location. All records will eventually be forwarded to BWARS through Murdo Macdonald.

The recording pack can be posted out to interested recorders. Email BRISC (see below) for details. The pack costs £2.