The restoration of lost species to Britain is never easy. In the past, most attention has been given to vertebrates, with notable successes such as the Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus and White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla, and continuing efforts for the Pool Frog Pelophylax lessonae. Here, the authors report on a project to reintroduce an extinct bumblebee, the Short-haired Bumblebee Bombus subterraneus.
There are currently 24 bumblebee species recorded in the UK, but previously there were 27. Over the last 70 years two species have become extinct and one is no longer recorded (Gammans & Allen 2014). The Short-haired Bumblebee Bombus subterraneus is the most recent extinction.