1. Bumblebees are major pollinators of a majority of our flora. If bumblebees continue to disappear, these plants will produce fewer seeds, potentially resulting in gradual but sweeping changes to the countryside. It may ultimately become dominated by an entirely different suite of plants that do not require bumblebee pollination. There is evidence that this process is already underway. These changes will have catastrophic chain effects for other wildlife dependent on these plants.
2. Bumblebees are also of commercial importance, being vital to the agricultural industry. Many arable and horticultural crops depend on bumblebees for pollination to varying degrees. Some, like oilseed rape, can produce adequate seed without bumblebees, provided there are sufficient honeybees, but others, such as raspberries and several types of beans, are heavily dependent on bumblebees; without them, there would be little or no crop to harvest. There is already evidence that in some regions where fields are large and there are few hedges, crop yields are depressed due to a shortage of bumblebees.
3. It is thus essential that we take measures to conserve our remaining bumblebee populations, and if possible, restore them to something like their past abundance. This cannot be achieved with existing nature reserves. Bumblebee nests are large, containing up to 400 sterile workers, each of which travels more than 1 km from the colony in search of suitable flowers. Each nest needs many hectares of suitable flower-rich habitat, meaning that to support a healthy population that is viable in the long term, large areas of land must be managed sympathetically. UK nature reserves are simply too small. The only way to provide sufficient areas of habitat for bumblebees is if the wider, farmed countryside and the vast areas covered by suburban gardens are managed in a suitable way.
4. To achieve this, farmers should be encouraged to adopt wildlife-friendly farming methods through uptake of the Entry Level Stewardship scheme. The replanting of hedges and the recreation of hay meadow and chalk grassland habitats need to be supported. These activities will not be at the expense of farming but will benefit it by improving crop yields at the same time as enriching the countryside.