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Great yellow bumblebee
What action is going on for this species?
The following will give you information on what work has been taking place through the Species Action Framework:
Species background
The great yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) is a brownish-orange bee with a conspicuous black stripe across the thorax. It is especially associated with machair and other grasslands near the coast.
Why is this on the Species Action List?
The great yellow bumblebee meets criterion 1a of the Species Action Framework, as a species for conservation action.
Formerly widespread in Britain, it is now restricted to north and west Scotland, and remains threatened by agricultural change.
Its management requirements are fairly well understood, and there are recognised agricultural practices that could benefit this species. The habitats associated with the great yellow bumblebee, machair and neutral grassland, are important for a wide range of other species of conservation concern, such as corncrake, which would also benefit from management measures for this species. Action for the great yellow bumblebee could also raise awareness of the needs of other threatened bees in Scotland.
It is a UKBAP Priority Species and is included on the Scottish Biodiversity List.
Habitat, distribution and abundance
The great yellow bumblebee is associated with extensive areas of herb-rich grasslands with a continuum of flowering plants throughout the flight period. It is mainly associated with winter-grazed pasture with no or little summer grazing. These grasslands support a large number of plant species with flowers having a long corolla, notably labiates, legumes such as red clover, and composites such as thistles and common knapweed - plants which are generally absent from improved or intensively managed ground.
Formerly distributed throughout Britain, this bee is now restricted to northern and western Scotland, with the main sites in the Hebrides, Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness.
General ecology
Worker bees are relatively large, and their numbers per nest are low (20 - 50). Nests are constructed underground. Traditional Hebridean cattle-rearing regimes and rotational machair cropping provide suitable habitat for the great yellow bumblebee. It may be able to survive on small, scattered patches of forage, provided these patches supply food continuously through. For more on the species requirements, see Farms and Crofts 
and Habitat Management for North and West Scotland .
History of decline, contributory factors and current threats
The great yellow bumblebee has experienced considerable range contraction in Britain since the 1960s. It is one of several bumblebees to have declined in range and abundance, probably because of habitat loss to modern agricultural practices.
Although widespread in northern and central Europe and in Asia, it is declining in many other parts of its European range including Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Threats arise from heavy summer grazing, reduction in rotation period, fertilisation and adoption of silage and monoculture.
The 'Species Lead' at Scottish Natural Heritage
Athayde.Tonhasca@snh.gov.uk Tel 01738 458671