August 11 is the start of Shrill Carder Week, a chance to search for one of Britain's rarest bees and discover why bumblebees are so important to UK society. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is hosting an event at The Foundry House, Pembroke, where it is encouraging volunteers from the area to get involved and help spot this rare bumblebee. The event will kick start on the evening of August 11 with a bee ID training session run by Sinead Lynch (conservation officer Wales) and Dr. Richard Comont (data monitoring officer) before volunteers head out on August 12 to walk designated transects in the Pembrokeshire area. The shrill carder is a distinctive bee which can be identified by its pale grey-yellow colouring, black band of hair between the wings and reddish-orange tail. It has declined dramatically in the last century, making it one of the UK's rarest bumblebees. Now only found in seven areas in southern England and Wales, it is a priority species for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to monitor. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust desperately needs volunteers in the Pembrokeshire area to get involved. Bumblebees are an essential part of the countryside, responsible as they are for pollinating our crops and wildflowers and ensuring the food we need, can grow and be harvested. It is a little known fact that without bumblebees, fruits such as tomatoes, apples and strawberries would simply cease to exist. To get involved in the walk, please contact Sinead Lynch at [email protected]">[email protected], or call 07778636510. If you are unable to attend the event and live in South Wales, why not take a walk and see if you can spot and photograph a shrill carder. If you would like more information on this rare bee visit the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website here http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/identification/very-rare/">http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/identification/very-rare/ You can also upload your pictures to the bee watch site here http://bumblebeeconservation.org/get-involved/surveys/beewatch/">http://bumblebeeconservation.org/get-involved/surveys/beewatch/ To join the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and support this vital cause, please visit http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org">www.bumblebeeconservation.org. If you would like to see how bee-friendly your garden is, visit http://beekind.bumblebeeconservation.org/">http://beekind.bumblebeeconservation.org/. This website will give your garden a bee-friendliness score on the flowers that you already have and provide top tips to make your garden even better for bumblebees.