One special bee

Tuesday 25 June 2024

Heathland Heroes

https://www.facebook.com/worcestershirewildlifetrust

We are creating the county's largest block of heathland and connecting 600 acres of habitat. Our Saving Worcestershire's Heathland's Project Officer, Beccy Somers, brings you the latest news and information from this amazing project.

Scarce black mining bee by Nick Packham

Nick takes a closer look at one of the specialities of Worcestershire's heathlands, the scarce black mining bee...

Heathlands are vital habitats for the sheert variety of rare species that live there and that you wouldn’t find in a woodland or wildflower meadow. Many of our wonderful insects favour sandy habitats as they are often warmer in the hot weather and the sand is easier to burrow into than soil and mud, making the creation of nests so much easier for them. There are around 270 species of bee in the UK and most of these are solitary bees, creating nests and sheltering on their own. Some species require certain food plants or habitats and will only be found where these plants or specific conditions exist.

One very rare species that we're delighted to have on our heathland complex around Dropping Well Farm is the scarce black mining bee Andrena nigrospina, a solitary bee that nests and shelters in the ground and feeds primarily on hoary mustard and wild radish, plants that like sandy soils. The bee will also feed on plants such as hogweed when wild radish is not in flower. This mining bee likes to nest in areas sheltered from the wind and often where there is lots of sun.

Scarce black mining bee feeding on an umbel head — Scarce black mining bee by Nick Packham

The female bees are almost entirely black with just some white hairs on their legs and back. About the size of a honey bee, they're one of the largest solitary bees we have in this country. Males are smaller with more white hairs on their abdomen.

There's still quite a bit we don’t know about this rare bee. How many are nesting where, for example? We know of a few sites but could there be more? We even know someone who has them visiting his garden not too far away so where are those bees nesting? We don’t really know how it got to our heathland here in Worcestershire. If you were to look at a distribution map of where it's found you'd spot that it's usually associated with areas of heathland with sand arable land or sandy waste ground nearby that has plenty of wild radish and/or hoary mustard. These areas are now as far apart as northern Worcestershire, Sandy in Cambridgeshire, Norwich and a few sites around London - was it once found in more places that were better connected or has it always had very limited populations? We do know that numbers are currently in decline.

We also know that scarce black mining bees and many other insects can only survive in heathland habitats, which makes these very valuable and special places that are worth protecting to ensure we maintain a health ecosystem and species diversity. This is why our Saving Worcestershire's Heathlands project is so important. Heathland restoration takes time but we've put the pieces in place to create new areas to buffer and extend the wonderful existing habitat.

The bees are on the wing until early July and, as they like to feed on plants found close to hedges and paths, it's possible (if you’re lucky) to see them from the sandy tracks and paths.