Big Bee project: restoration and management of bumblebee habitat in agricultural landscapes

Data on the response of bumblebees to sown flower mixtures across different agricultural landscapes. Includes a) GIS maps of land-use and habitat quality; b) count data giving density estimates for bumblebees (10 species) and flowers on sown flower patches and control areas; c) estimates of colony number represented on sample patches for B. pascuorum and B. lapidarius and d) data on pollen load composition for B. pascuorum and B. lapidarius.
Experiment conducted at 8 sites across central and eastern England. Project ran from 2004 - 2008 (detail in lineage section) Combination of methods used: fixed transect walks for bumblebee and flower counts; molecular microsatellite markers to estimate genotypic relatedness of workers and hence number of colonies represented in each sample; pollen loads collected from foraging workers and identified to species level where possible. Data collected as part of a large-scale experiment to investigate the effects on bumble bees (Bombus spp.) of nectar flower mixtures sown under the ELS agri-environment schemes (AES) recently adopted in England. Until now there has been little evidence for how the area of flower mixtures sown, or landscape context in which they are provided, can affect their success. These factors are important to ensure the AES are cost-effective and targeted to regions where they can have greatest benefit. The project was led and coordinated by CEH (the Pywell Section) in collaboration with Rothamsted Research and the Institute of Zoology, London. Funding awarded by Defra and Natural England.