Today marks the beginning of a reintroduction scheme of a species of bee previously extinct in the UK. Farmers in Kent will be supporting the RSPB-led scheme to reintroduce the short-haired bumblebee to Kent’s fields after it became extinct in the country in 1988.

The scheme is being partnered by Natural England, the RSPB and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. This morning, queen bees were released at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve; the bees will be monitored over the summer months to ascertain the bees’ health and check whether they are roving beyond their release site.

The bees, one of the 27 species of bumblebee native to the UK, was widespread in South-Eastern England until the mid-Twentieth Century, when numbers and range dropped swiftly, confining the bee to Dungeness and the Romney Marshes in Kent before it finally dwindled to extinction. Around a hundred bees were brought over to Kent from Sweden for release today.

As part of the reintroduction project, local farmers have been instrumental in creating habitat that will support the bees. Using Environmental Stewardship funding, farmers in Dungeness have grown flower-rich borders and meadows to support a range of nectar feeding insects which, it is hoped, will support the bees once they begin to explore their surroundings.

The habitat created by farmers in the area, including unfarmed margins in fields, have formed wildlife corridors in which bees and other wildlife can forage and which form a link between farmland and nature reserves.

Three years of preparation in the Dungeness reserve has also helped support other species of threatened bees in the area as well as hares and birdlife. The organisations involved in the reintroduction project said they hoped it will “Restore yet another link in the ecological network, and provide one of the iconic sights and sounds of the British countryside.”

Poul Christensen, Chair of Natural England commented on the project, “The return of one of Britain's lost species is a cause for celebration. This is a great example of the type of dedicated partnership between farmers, scientists and conservation organisations that can make a real difference for wildlife in this country.”

Dr Ben Darvill, CEO for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust added, “'Bumblebees are now scarce in many farmland areas due to intensive agriculture. The work in the South East of England, in preparation for this reintroduction, shows what is possible when bee-friendly practices are used.

“Farmers here are running successful businesses and producing food, whilst supporting healthy pollinator populations. Bumblebees are farmers' friends, so it makes sense to support them. We hope the successes in the South East will encourage others to help bumblebees too.”

Although the agchem industry has denied the connection, blaming bee decline on loss of habitat and disease, wide ranging evidence from research institutes across Europe and America have linked falling bee numbers with the use of certain insecticides. A coalition of organisations has called for the suspension or strict regulation of these chemicals in the EU, where some states have already placed tight controls on use.

Friends of the Earth campaigners protested the use of neonicotinoid pesticides at the Chelsea flower show being held last week. The group has called for a suspension of the pesticides pending a review of their effect on insect pollinators and wants David Cameron to introduce a wide-ranging Bee Action Plan to address the loss of important pollinators.

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