The Grey-Patched Mining Bee
By Lachlan Royle
Behaviour
 |
| An individual on UEA campus with its pollen sacs full |
As noted with its name the Grey-Patched mining bee is a member of the mining bee family, these bees are fantastically unique as they dig tunnels into the soil to form their nests, within this network of tunnels they will have a larder with stored food and a nursery full of eggs. Tunnels can stretch up to 60cm and are noticeable from the surface by a small volcano shaped mound, unlike many other species of bee mining bees are noticeably docile and very few cases of them stinging in defence of their territory or themselves is documented. However they face certain challenges, in order to dig their tunnels mining bees require soft sandy soil, this habitat is becoming scarcer year on year and as a result many mining bee species are becoming very rare, fortunately the grey-patched mining bee is currently one of our more numerous species. It is important in coming years that conservation efforts are made to preserve the habitats of these small bees, there are multiple approaches that can be taken to aid in this. The planting of flower species that the mining bees rely on for pollen is important. as is an accessible source of drinking water. Another easy way to help is by offering a 'bee bank', a mound of loose soil that is left for the mining bees to access.
The Grey-Patched mining Bee in particular is fascinating, they are roughly a bit larger than a honey Bee with the larger females measuring up to 12mm. Males are identifiable by their white 'facial hair', unlike many bee species, this Bee is mostly solitary producing one generation of offspring each year. They can be found across most of Southern England becoming scarcer the further North you head, currently its most northernmost territory known is in Yorkshire. Like all Bees they are deeply essential to their own ecosystems and ours on a larger scale, the pollination they do contributes to the survival of many different plant species.
Comments
Post a Comment