The Cumbria Bumblebee Atlas project & the ‘Grey Square’ Challenge
Aiming to reveal where Bumblebees are in the whole of Cumbria
During the spring and summer 2022, Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Get Cumbria Buzzing! recorded as many Bumblebees and other pollinators as part of its Bumblebee Atlas Project in partnership with the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre (CBDC).
We asked the communities of Cumbria to join us in the search for Bumblebees. To help we offered online and in the field bumblebee identification training sessions, and recording days across the whole of the north & north west of Cumbria.
View or Download the Cumbria Bumblebee Atlas - An Atlas and Conservation guide (PDF)
Importantly, Bumblebees are recognized as significant indicators of the overall state of pollinators in the UK.
The Bee Atlas project
Despite there being an amazing number of species of pollinators in Cumbria, a lot of them require in-depth knowledge and experience. By focusing on Bumblebees, which are more easily recorded in the field, we created an Atlas detailing the distribution, range, and species history of all of the Bumblebee species found in Cumbria
This Atlas includes the records already held by the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre, and the records collected and submitted this year. Importantly, Bumblebees are recognized as significant indicators of the overall state of pollinators in the UK.
The Grey Square challenge
Despite some areas of the county being well represented, some areas are significantly under recorded, some have less than 500 records (all time) and are needing special attention.
So, this year we arranged recording day visits to some of these ‘grey squares’. We also looked for community groups and individuals to adopt an under recorded 'grey square'.
What is the purpose of all this recording?
At the end of the Get Cumbria Buzzing! project, Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre created a Bumblebee Atlas and a State of Pollinators report. The Atlas will be held on-line by the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre here.
The State of Pollinators report is particularly important as it will be the underpinning evidence base for the developing Cumbria Pollinator Strategy. The Strategy will be written in the next year or so by people drawn from the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership, Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Planting for Pollinator's Project and Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre.
The Strategy will sit alongside the Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Network Strategy and will be an important document informing future land use and management.
