Dorset wildlife trust has recently introduced a colony of black bees into the DWT Kingcombe in West Dorset. The aim of this project is to establish a successful regional population in the area and to study foraging habits and pollen preferences in the colony, to better understand these bees’ behavioural patterns. The colony was extracted from an already established and successful colony in South Wales, and introduced to the Kingcombe centre orchard.
Photo credit – V. White
Also known outside of the UK as the dark European honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), the black bee is a subspecies of the European honey bee (A. mellifera). UK populations of the black bee were thought to be extinct by the 19th century, mainly due to a proliferation of tracheal mites, tiny parasites which infect and reproduce in the breathing tubes of the bees, however small isolated populations were found in Wales and Scotland back in 2012.
Considered as the ‘native’ honeybee, the black bee is perfectly adapted to the colder climate of the UK, able to fly and survive in colder temperatures, considerably larger than the continental honeybees, and with longer hairs on the thorax. It is also thought that these bees are more resistant to some diseases, such as bacterial and amoebic infections.
It is hoped that the establishment of this colony will not only help to increase local pollinator diversity, contributing to local ecosystems by boosting pollination, but also prevents an exciting opportunity to understand more about the bees’ behaviour in order to conserve them and increase local biodiversity.
