NATURE lovers will be seeking elusive and rare bees at a Lancashire beauty spot on Friday, April 10.
Bilberry bumblebees have been recorded in White Coppice near Chorley but just one queen.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust Plan Bee project officer Ben Hargreaves will be a leading an identification day at White Coppice from 9.30am to 2pm to seek out the queen bees.
He said: “The aim of the survey is to search the White Coppice area for Bombus monticola, AKA bilberry bumblebee. Both workers and males have been recorded from the general area but there is only one record of a queen in this area.
“The species has undergone substantial decline - particularly in lowland areas - and therefore any viable populations are important both for studying continuing threats to the species and habitat requirements.
“Even if we don't locate any of the species, it will be useful to raise awareness of White Coppice and Heapey as an important area for bees generally. We also have records of heath bumblebee, tormentil mining-bee and two species of bumblebee cuckoos.”
For more information visit: www.lancswt.org.uk/plan-bee
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