Shrill Carder Bee Button Badge

Handcrafted from brass with oxidised detail and sterling silver back.

Shrill Carders are one of the UK's most endangered bees - thanks to the loss of its wildflower meadow habitat.  You may still find them along the Thames Estuary and parts of Wales, with the Queen emerging from May onwards, and her workers joining her from mid-June.  They are the homebirds of the bee family, preferring to collect pollen close to their nests, which are usually made in rough tussocks of grass.  They are usually rather yellow-grey, with distinctive black stripes across their heads and bottoms.

Fun fact: Shrill Carder Bees are so named thanks to the squealing, high-pitched whine their tiny wings make as they zip about.