Britain's red-tailed bumblebee faces habitat loss due to intensive farming, but solar farms with sensitive planting may help revive their numbers.

The red-tailed bumblebee, one of the UK's most common species, has experienced a dramatic decline over the past three decades due to habitat loss from intensive farming practices. As winter approaches, these bees prepare for hibernation, but their future is uncertain. Recent research highlights an unexpected ally in the form of solar farms. By examining 1,042 existing solar farms, scientists found that those with wildlife-friendly management practices, such as flower plantings and hedges, saw bumblebee populations more than double. In contrast, solar farms that were simply turfed offered little to no benefit. While the positive effects were primarily localized to the solar farms themselves, a network of well-planted solar farms could significantly enhance the bumblebee population in the UK, especially if surrounding farmland remains unproductive.