This bumble bee (Bombus sylvarum), once common in the UK, is now found in only a few pockets as intensive farming destroys wildflower habitats.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/11/the-shrill-carder-once-common-bumblebee-heading-for-extinction

Having been asked for some more details on this, Andrew Halstead sent the following:

Like most of the rare and declining UK bumblebee spp., the shrill carder bumblebee, often found in coastal areas, needs flower-rich meadows, so is not specifically coastal. Flower rich meadows on farmland have mostly been ploughed up and resown with rye grass, or they are cut more frequently for silage instead of hay. See https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0000875593 for information about this bee and its UK distribution.

We are fortunate to have in our Division the mine of entomological information that is Andrew.

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