>Finally, on this theme, the bumblebee bombus hypnorum, or tree bumblebee,
and a long term European resident has been a huge success story in the UK.
 First reported in Southern England in 2001, it has now become widely
established across the full N-S extent of England, and on into Scotland.
 This successful species seems seldom to be mentioned when bee declines are
being debated.

I will second that!  They are a major problem to us as, despite their name, they seem to prefer the urban environment and bird boxes in small gardens come top of their list.  We had up to 30 calls a week to our swarm service last spring and it looks like it will be the same this year.

Incidentally, here in the Midlands we had a very large and thriving bumblebee population.  They seem to be doing better than ever - perhaps partly due to the many conservation strips planted around fields.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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