A species of bumblebee which has been extinct in the UK since 1988 is being reintroduced to the countryside. The short haired bumblebee was once widespread across the south of England but was wiped out due to the decline of wild flower meadows. As part of a project to reintroduce them conservationists have collected 50 queen bumblebees from Sweden. These will be used to seed a new UK colony. The bees have been keep in quarantine to ensure they are healthy before being released at a site in Dungeness in Kent. The area has been specially managed to create wild flowers such as clover and vetches which should encourage the bees. Local farmers have also left areas of unfarmed land at the edges of their fields to create flower rich corridors to help the bees spread out across the area.
