Hand-selected New Zealand bumblebees waiting to be sent to Britain on a pollination "rescue mission" have died in captivity.

Natural England, the British government's countryside agency, chose the short-haired bumblebees from New Zealand because they were descended from a species originally imported from England to pollinate red clovers on South Island farms.

The short-haired bumblebees were declared extinct in Britain a decade ago.

But less than two weeks before the selected bees were due to be exported for release in England, the consignment died in hibernation.

English authorities will try again with New Zealand bees next summer.