Rare bee thrives on tank range (From Western Telegraph)

Rare bee thrives on tank range

DEFENCE takes on a whole new meaning in the context of the Ministry of Defence, for their extensive military land holdings act as sanctuaries for wildlife as traditional habitats disappear at a rate of knots.

The various training ranges and research establishments provide a haven for the flora and fauna which are becoming increasingly endangered by the significant land changes caused by intensive farming methods and the use of herbicides and insecticides.

In this context it is nice to learn that the Castlemartin Range is one of the largest and best sites in the UK for the survival of a rare bumblebee and that the Royal Artillery Range at Manorbier has become a paradise for skylarks.

The latest issue of the MoDs beautifully-produced conservation magazine Sanctuary highlights these facts.

Castlemartin is well-known for its great variety of habitats, harbouring an equally diverse fauna from choughs and lapwings to silver-studded blue butterflies, writes Claire Carvell in issue number 30 of this superb glossy publication.

She reports that the loss of large areas of flower-rich grassland to agricultural intensification has resulted in only six of Britains 19 bumblebee species being widespread throughout their pre-1960 range, yet the ten species recorded at Castlemartin include the rare Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum), which was the third most frequent.

These bees are particularly attracted to yellow rattle and birds-foot trefoil and later in the season to black knapweed, red bartsia, red clover and devils-bit scabious, which have become more abundant in the Castlemartin sward.

Extensive winter grazing with a break in spring and summer seems to be crucial to the creation of an ideal habitat for bumblebees and close liaison between the MoD and local conservation officers and SPRRAG - the South Pembrokeshire Range Recording and Advisory Group - will hopefully ensure a flourishing future for these and other rare species.

Such co-operation is also ensuring that the skylark population is holding its own at Manorbier, where range caretaker Peter Rees has been liaising with National Trust head warden Richard Ellis.