Making a beeline: wildflower paths across UK could save species

Conservation charity aims to help restore 150,000 hectares of bee-friendly corridors to save the insects from extinction

Andrew Whitehouse has been on the cliffs at Prawle Point, south Devon, searching on his hands and knees for a rare bee. He saw only one last year, and so far this summer there has been no sign of the six-banded nomad bee with its striking yellow markings.

Whitehouse fears it is on the brink of extinction because, as a parasitic bee, it depends on a host - the long-horned bee - in whose nest it lays its eggs, and the host is now also scarce.