IT USED to be an empty field, almost devoid of life. Now the former waste ground in Perth and Kinross has been transformed into a haven of colourful wild flowers, providing a lifeline to a very important insect.
The world's first bumblebee sanctuary has been set up in Scotland in a bid to help the insects, which are under threat due to a loss of suitable habitat.
The project has already been an outstanding success, with hundreds of bumblebees buzzing from
flower to flower.
And to the delight of conservationists, one of the rarest species in the country – the blaeberry bumblebee – has set up home in the 20-acre meadow.
Already, three species of bumblebee are extinct in the UK due to a lack of the flower-rich habitats they need, and several others are under serious threat.
Ben Darvill, the director of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which set up the sanctuary alongside the charity RSPB Scotland, said it was crucial to protect the insects, which help sustain the whole ecosystem by pollinating crops and wildflowers.
"They are incredibly important," he said. "Without them, we would be talking about significant reductions in crop yields and sweeping changes to the look of the countryside.
"Einstein said if we lost our bees, the human race would have four years left to live.
"I think we are adaptable enough now that we as a race could survive, but it would have a drastic effect on the availability of food and on quality of life."
He hopes the critically endangered great yellow bumblebee could one day be spotted at the 20-acre sanctuary. Dr Dave Beaumont, head of reserves ecology for RSPB Scotland, hopes the project on the Vane Farm nature reserve, beside Loch Leven, could inspire farmers and landowners to plant more wild flowers.
"If you look around the countryside nowadays, you very rarely see grasslands that have any colour other than green in them," he said.
"This rarity of flower-rich meadows and all of the dependant wildlife that they support is something that we can address on our nature reserves."
He added: "Seeing and hearing the multitude of bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies visiting the patchwork of reds, yellows and blues and smelling the air reminds me of what we have lost from much of the countryside, without even thinking of the actual species involved."
BACKGROUNDTO CREATE a haven for bumblebees a variety of native wildflowers is needed.
Bumblebees vary in the length of their tongues, which is why a wide selection of flowers is important. Foxgloves, cowslips, brambles, buddleia, catmint, cornflowers, heathers, hollyhocks, lavender, marjoram, mint, clover, rock-rose, snapdragons, sunflowers and thistles are just some of their favourites.
The wildflower meadow must be left to grow wild during the summer months to allow it to burst into colour.
The full article contains 474 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
