The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced the the rarest bumblebee in England was seen at RHS Garden Hyde Hall. 

On 14 September 2025, the shrill carder bumblebee, Bombus sylvarum, was seen in Essex, expanding the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s recorded range for the species. 

Spotted by BeeWalk volunteer Cheryl Sheff in the Hilltop Garden’s Herbaceous Border, the bee’s identity was later identified by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. 

RHS Hyde Hall is the only RHS garden to have a recent record of the bumblebee, last recorded at RHS Wisley in 1920.

Helen Bostock, RHS senior wildlife specialist says “there was potential for the shrill carder bumblebee to be found in the garden, and had been on the lookout”.

“It’s testament to the complementary approach to planting at RHS Hyde Hall.”

A priority species of conservation concern in England, the bumblebee is found in only five small areas across the whole of the UK.