Rare bee discovered on twin's farmland

A rare bumblebee has been discovered on land near a Midland town, making the site one of only two in the UK where the endangered species has been recorded.

Three years ago Mike Southall and his twin brother Paul from Norchard Farm, near Stourport, decided to take part in a special programme of leaving field margins uncultivated to encourage insect life.

When Mike, aged 50, discovered a bumblebee which was entirely black with an orange beard he knew it was rare.

An insect expert from the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust visited the farm and identified it as a very rare Bombus Ruderatus.

This bumblebee is one of the most precariously-balanced species in the UK and experts believe a loss of habitat and breeding sites during the past 50 years has seen its numbers fall dramatically.

Now the Southall's farm, near Hartlebury, is one of only two sites where it has been recorded.

Mike said: "The bee I found was a male, entirely black, apart from an orange beard.

"It stood out as something different but anyone wanting to see one of these will now have to wait until next year. Their flight season has ended.

"They nest underground and it is now unlikely that they will be seen again until next year.

"It is thought they need large areas of nectar throughout the season and I think what we have been doing here has helped."

The family has 200 acres of land at the home farm at Norchard and rent a further 600 acres on which they grow stick beans, broad beans, courgettes and asparagus.

They have joined Operation Bumblebee to ensure the way they manage their land also helps the environment.

They sell crops to Sainsbury's which has pioneered the Syngenta Operation Bumblebee project and encourages growers to establish a special mix of wild red clover and other native flowering plants.

Across the country the supermarket chain has persuaded farmers to establish 2,500,000 metres of land geared to help bumblebees thrive.