Written by Patrick Saunders, the Cornwall bumblebee county recorder, ‘Bumblebees of Cornwall and Scilly’ is a fantastic guide for anyone interested in bumblebee ecology, conservation and status in Cornwall.
This Atlas is illustrated with full colour photographs, species distribution maps at 2km resolution and illustrations and includes a foreword by Professor Juliet Osborne from University of Exeter.
This book is for enthusiasts and recorders, to give an over view of the current understanding of Bombus species in the county and to focus future recording and conservation effort, as well as garden enthusiasts who would like to learn how they can manage their patch to benefit bumblebees and other pollinating insects. Cornwall has nationally important populations of rare bumblebees, such as the Brown-banded Carder Bumblebee (B. humilis) and the Moss Carder Bumblebee (B. muscorum). Cornwall also has historical records of four nationally notable species and three rare species now presumed extinct in the region. This Atlas indicates a startling decline in bumblebee species in Cornwall since the middle of the 20th century. This equates to a quarter of the Cornish bumblebee fauna lost in one person’s lifetime.
"Whilst this is not an identification guide, the atlas provides enough information for anyone to start distinguishing between bumblebee species in their garden or elsewhere. We rely not only on individuals planting flowers for bees, and creating bee-friendly habitats, but we also rely on recorders who enable these distribution maps to be created. Without them, we would have little idea of which species are doing well, and which are shrinking in range.” - Juliet Osborne
How to get your copy
Bumblebees of Cornwall and Scilly will be available as a free PDF Download (please be aware this is a large file) or Limited edition full colour A5 paperback book available for just £8 (and £2.95 p&p)
Please Contact Us to get your printed copy.
Bumblebee conservation in Cornwall
Don't forget - by recording and submitting your records to ERCCIS you are making a significant contirbution to the conservation and protection of Cornwall's bumblebees. You can easily share your records on the ERCCIS online recording website - Online Recording Kernow and Scilly (ORKS)