Friday 16 September 2016

Ivy Bees

On my way to the shops on Wednesday and I noticed hundreds of solitary bees zig zagging back and forth just above the ground in a front garden. The grass was very closely mowed.
The buzz from the bees was quite loud. I noticed that the bees were also present in three adjacent gardens with similar gardens.

I went home for my camera and took a few pics. I later identified the bees at Ivy bee (confirmed by BWARS - Bees Wasps Ants Recording Society).
These solitary bees have a single flight period, September and possibly as late as November when the weather is warm. This coincides with their preferred pollination source - Ivy.
This bee was first seen in the UK in 2001 (Dorset) and was described as new to science in 1993.

I returned to see if they were still their yesterday and they were just as active. Ivy Bees are mining bees making nest tunnels, in this case, in the soil beneath the lawn.

I checked today and even though it had been raining and quite windy, a few of the bees were still evident

Short video clip below 

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