I am once again the Nature Champion for the Bilberry/Blaeberry Bumblebee. I had never seen one in the wild until yesterday when I visited Ben Lawers with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Ben Lawers is one of the main habitats for this species and I could see the evidence of their work in the number of berries.
Darryl Cox of the Trust and I spotted a couple on the way up in the morning but we couldn't catch them. We had more luck in the afternoon when we were heading down after polishing off two Munros (thanks Darryl for your patience as I lumbered up to the tops).
I am hoping that my term as a Nature champion will see some real action to conserve and protect, not just my species, but other bees as well.
They are vital to the ecosystem and the Bilberry Bumblebee could be threatened by climate change.
One thought I had was that organisations like the The National Trust for Scotland could put information boards at their sites to let people know what to look for. Walkers could then record sightings. This kind of information is vital.
I will be going on bee walks in the future. I will keep you posted.
