@article {458, title = {Recent research on the northern Colletes mining bee Colletes floralis Eversmann}, journal = {The Glasgow Naturalist }, volume = {25}, year = {2009}, pages = {43-49}, abstract = {

The northern Colletes mining bee is a UK Biodiversity Action\  Plan\  (UKBAP)\  priority\  species\  listed\  as Rare.
Since\  2001,\  nesting\  aggregations\  of\  this\  species\  have been monitored annually on the RSPB Reef reserve on the\  Isle\  of\  Tiree\  in\  the\  Inner\  Hebrides.\  Eight\  nest ing aggregations\  were\  found\  on\  the\  reserve\  in\  2001-2002, one was lost to natural causes in 2004 whilst three new aggregations\  were\  discovered\  in\  2005-6\  bringing\  the total\  of\  active\  aggregations\  to\  ten\  in\  2007\  and\  2008.
Seven of the nesting aggregations were associated with man-made\  features. This\  highlights\  the\  ability\  of\  the species\ \  to\ \  nest\ \  at\ \  new\ \  locations\ \  as\ \  they\ \  become suitable\  and\  suggests\  a\  possible\  management\  tool\  for enticing bees to nest in areas currently lacking suitable nest-sites.\  Management\  in\  the\  form\  of\  winter\  cattle grazing\  has\  maintained\  a\  stable\  population\  on\  the reserve.\ \ \ 
Since\  2000,\  surveys\  for\  northern\  Colleteshave\  been\  undertaken\  by\  staff\  and\  researchers\  from RSPB\ \  and\ \  Hymettus\ \  Ltd\ \  (formerly\ \  the\ \  Aculeate Conservation\  Group)\  in\  areas\  with\  historical\  records and\ \  of\ \  other\ \  potentially\ \  suitable\ \  herb-rich\ \  coastal habitat. These have revealed the continued presence of the\ \  bee\ \  at\ \  two\ \  sites\ \  in\ \  N.\ \  Ireland:\ \  Ballymaclary/Portstewart\ \ \  Strand/Umbra\ \ \  and\ \ \  White\ \ \  Park\ \ \  Bay/Bushfoot Strand, one in England: Duddon Estuary, and six\  in\  Scotland:\  Berneray\  to\  Vatersay\  in\  the\  Outer Hebrides, Tiree/ Coll, Islay, Colonsay / Oronsay, Irvine in\ \  Ayrshire\ \  and\ \  Machrihanish\ \  in\ \  Kintyre.\ \ 
Optimal habitat management for the bee is being encouraged in all these areas

}, author = {Bowler, J and Sears, J and Hunter, J} } @book {457, title = {Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland}, year = {2015}, pages = {336}, publisher = {British Wildlife Publishing}, organization = {British Wildlife Publishing}, isbn = {978-1910389034}, author = {Falk, S and R Lewington} } @article {456, title = {Scottish Wild Bees}, year = {2014}, publisher = {Scottish Natural Heritage}, url = {http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/wild\%20bees\%20identification\%20guide.pdf}, author = {Edwards, M} } @book {447, title = {Highland Bumblebees: Distribution, Ecology and Conservation}, year = {2006}, isbn = {978 0 9552211 0 1}, url = {http://www.hbrg.org.uk/Atlases.html}, author = {Macdonald, M and Nisbet, G} } @article {360, title = {Crofting and bumblebee conservation: The impact of land management practices on bumblebee populations in northwest Scotland}, journal = {Biological Conservation }, volume = {143}, year = {2010}, pages = {492-500}, abstract = {

The northwest of Scotland is a stronghold for two of the UK\’s rarest bumblebee species, Bombus distinguendus and Bombus muscorum.

The predominant form of agricultural land management in this region is crofting, a system specific to Scotland in which small agricultural units (crofts) operate rotational crop- ping and grazing regimes. Crofting is considered to be beneficial to a wide range of flora and fauna. How- ever, currently there is a lack of quantitative evidence to support this view with regard to bumblebee populations. In this study we assessed the effect of land management on the abundance of foraging bum blebees and the availability of bumblebee forage plants across crofts in northwest Scotland. The results of our study show that current crofting practices do not support high densities of foraging bumblebees. Tra ditional crofting practice was to move livestock to uplands in the summer, but this has been largely aban doned. Summer sheep grazing of lowland pasture had a strong negative impact on bumblebee abundance and forage plant availability throughout the survey period. The use of specific \‘bird and bee\’ conservation seed mixes appears to improve forage availability within the crofted landscape, although the number of bees observed remained low. Of the forage plants available, the three most frequently visited species were from the Fabaceae. We therefore conclude that the creation of agri-environment schemes which promote the use of Fabaceae-rich seed mixes and encourage the removal of sheep grazing on lowland areas throughout the summer are essential in order to conserve bumblebee populations within crofted areas.

}, keywords = {Bombus}, url = {https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=redpath-et-al-2009-biol-cons.pdf\&site=411}, author = {Redpath, N and Osgathorpe, LM and Park, K and Goulson, D} } @article {Waters2011, title = {Niche differentiation of a cryptic bumblebee complex in the Western Isles of Scotland}, journal = {Insect Conserv. Divers.}, volume = {4}, number = {1}, year = {2011}, pages = {46{\textendash}52}, abstract = {

1. It has recently become apparent that there is cryptic diversity in bumblebees, notably in the Bombus lucorum complex which appears to contain three distinct taxa (B. lucorum, B. magnus, and B. cryptarum). We know almost nothing about how these species differ in their ecology or distribution. 2. Here, we use RFLP markers to identify workers of the B. lucorum complex from the west of Scotland, and we map the distributions, forage use and habitat associations of the three taxa. 3. In western Scotland, B. cryptarum was found to be the most abundant of the three related taxa, but all three occurred in almost all sample sites. In combination with similar work from Ireland, we are able to conclude that: B. cryptarum is a poly- lectic species associated with uplands and cool climates; B. lucorum appears to be a lowland bee particularly associated with urban areas and islands close to the main- land in Scotland, and feeding largely on Erica cinerea and Apiaceae; B. magnus appears to be a heathland bee strongly associated with feeding on Calluna vulgaris. 4. Our study demonstrates that a combination of molecular and ecological approaches can reveal aspects of the ecology of cryptic species.

}, keywords = {Biogeography, Bombus lucorum, Bumblebees, Coexistence, Forage use, Hymenoptera, RFLP}, isbn = {1752-458X}, issn = {1752458X}, doi = {10.1111/j.1752-4598.2010.00101.x}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2010.00101.x}, author = {Waters, Joe and Darvill, Ben and Lye, Gillian C. and Goulson, Dave} }