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Colletes hederae mapping project - 2009 |
Download an Information sheet
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 Colletes hederae was
recorded as new to Britain in 2001 when Ian Cross discovered specimens at
Langton Matravers in Dorset. Since then, the bee has spread across much of
southern England, and is now extremely plentiful in some coastal localities,
and increasingly, inland. Peak activity matches the flowering period of its
key pollen forage plant, IVY (Hedera helix), and the species is on
the wing from mid-September until early November. This makes it the last
solitary bee species to emerge each year. BWARS has been mapping the spread
since its discovery 8 years ago.
2009 Summary
2009 has been another excellent year both for Colletes hederae in UK and our
monitoring effort. BWARS has gathered data from no less than 61 10x10km grid
cells this year, of which no less than 33 represent entirely new locations.
A glance at the map at the foot of this webpage will show that the most
exciting areas for new sightings have been in west Kent, the north Kentish
coast and south Essex (the first records from north of the Thames). I have
also received a good number of records from inland areas such as Surrey, and
especially, western Hampshire.
Data has come from a variety of sources, including BWARS members, other
naturalists, and many members of the public via Google searches linked to
the BWARS site (backed up with photos), from Wildlife Trusts, BBC
Autumnwatch. A very big “thank you” too to Jane Adams, whose award winning
wildlife blog “ Urban Extension”, has both raised awareness and encouraged
readers to send in their data.
Well done and thank you to all those who have been involved – It will be
interesting to see what 2010 brings |
Finding and Recognising Colletes hederae
Anyone with large stands of flowering Ivy near them should look for
this bee. Any largish Colletes visiting Ivy (often in large numbers) in
October is likely to be this species.
 Also,
you may notice large concentrations of this mining bee in soft, crumbly
banks and cliffs. Males may be seen in frenzied mating clusters as
they "mob" females emerging from their nests. So do check any suitable
localities.
You can watch a video of a Colletes hederae colony
here
Photos: by kind permission of Nico Vereecken and Jane Adams.
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Look for bees collecting pollen from ivy. It's fairly simple to determine
Colletes hederae – It is a typical Colletes, but it can be as large as, or
larger than a honeybee, and the banding on the abdomen of fresh specimens
has a distinct orange hue. This fades in older specimens. |
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Latest Map: 23 November 2009 |
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