WORCESTERSHIRE growers are buzzing with excitement following the discovery of a threatened species of bumblebee on their farm.

Twin brothers Paul and Mike Southall are co-owners of Norchard Farm, near Stourport, and have successfully taken part in Operation Bumblebee to try to attract the bees back to their natural agicultural habitats.

The project, run by Syngenta Crop Protection, has involved planting farmland with flowers and plant species tailored to attract back the bumblebee, and succeeding in the case of the large garden bumblebee (bombus ruderatus). The species is one of three that have greatly declined due to loss of habitat in the past 50 years, with just two sites in Worcestershire currently recording its presence.

Mike Southall said: “The results we have seen on our farm are incredibly exciting.

“The speed at which the bumblebee and other insects have colonised even small areas of dedicated habitat is quite remarkable.”

The farm is a supplier of dwarf green beans for supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, which has been pioneering the project throughout its fresh produce suppliers.

Encouraging back the bees has required growing a mix of wild red clover and other native flowers, which provide pollen and nectar for the bees.

Mr Southall said: “We are very proud of what we’ve achieved and the way we manage the environment alongside our food production.

“Finding such a rare species makes this all even more worthwhile.”

Although there are 25 species native to the UK and Ireland, three have already become nationally extinct.

The ruderatus species is now classed as nationally scarce by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan with less than 10 confirmed sightings in England since the 1980s.

Debbie Winstanley, Sainsbury’s spokeswoman, said: “Our customers care about the environment in which their food is grown. This project demonstrates how sustainable, profitable food production and also a vibrant countryside can sit side by side.”