Dozens of bumblebees have been found dead in a mystery wildlife incident in Stratford.
The bees – estimated to number around 50 – were found on a woodland path in Lench Meadows.
Pictures posted to Facebook show a cluster of the creatures lying on the path.
Richard Price, who snapped the picture, described it as ‘very sad’, adding that there was ‘no sign of chemicals’ and asking if anyone had any ideas as to what might have caused the bees to die.
According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the insects are vulnerable to lack of food, bad weather, disease and parasites.
It could also be part of the bees’ natural lifecycle. A spokesman said: “When nests are active and producing worker bees, the natural life span of a bumblebee can be as little as a few weeks. At the end of the nesting period only the new queens survive while the workers and male bees die gradually. When they are close to death, they often cling to flowers and look quite lethargic.
“When they do die, they then drop off the flowers and it’s possible to find a number of dead bumblebees in the same spot, especially near the most bee-friendly plants.”
Lench Meadows is also known as Warwick Road Lands or Stratford-upon-Avon Local Nature Reserve. The 71-acre riverside site is run by Stratford Town Trust.
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