Our work at Lytes Cary Manor estate

Shrill carder bee

The little bumblebee with a big voice (it is named for its high-pitched buzz) is a priority species for conservation following significant declines since the 1950s. It’s now nationally scarce, with populations restricted to a few isolated locations in southern England and Wales. 

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust describes them as a late emerging species from May, with males and new queens seen foraging late into August and September making them vulnerable to loss of flowering habitat in mid-summer. Like many bumblebees, numbers have suffered due to the huge reduction of flower-rich habitats in recent decades.  

Improving the nest sites 

The team at Lytes Cary Manor have spent a decade working to improve nest sites and food sources for this straw-coloured bumblebee, with its distinctive black stripes.

The work included propagating and planting out white dead nettle and comfrey – important nectar sources for adult bees. Volunteers planted hundreds of plugs, as well as a mixture of wildflowers from seed including yellow rattle and black knapweed, which will act as a wider source of nectar and pollen for foraging worker bees.

‘At Lytes Cary Manor efforts are made each year, both in the garden and wider estate, to provide habitat for Shrills. There is an emphasis on late summer forage, which included reverting a whole field into a legume mix.’

- Mark Musgrave, Lead Ranger at Lytes Cary Manor

 

However, despite these efforts there has been a decline in sightings of the Shrill cader, with none spotted at Lytes Cary in 2024. As one of the largest landowners of flower-rich grasslands, the National Trust’s involvement is crucial for the conservation and recovery of the species and the team at Lytes Cary Manor remain committed to managing the estate in a way that provides habitat for all stages of the bumblebee’s lifecycle to help reverse this decline.