Wight Bumblees: 2021

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

The Parasitic Species on our Coastal Cliffs.

The crumbling cliffs and resulting landslip habitat of our south-west coast is perhaps a stronghold in Southern England of two parasitic species of solitary bees. Firstly the large and flightless Oil Beetle, Meloe proscarabaeus. Its lifestyle is referred to in my earlier post of the 30th April 2017 entitled Oil Beetles.The second species is the Dotted Bee-fly Bombylius discolor. This bee-fly also has a strong connection with solitary bees and wasps. Its lifecycle is explained in my post of the 1st April 2016 Bombylius discolor.

Both these were encountered yesterday on the cliffs.

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In the UK there are twenty four species of bumblebee but only eight are commonly found in most places.Bumblebees occupy a variety of habitats and most of us should be able to attract them to our gardens if we have the right kinds of flowering plants.

On the Isle of Wight eleven species have been recorded including the eight ommon ones which are Tree,Garden,Heath,Red-tailed,White-tailed,Common Carder,Early,and Buff-tailed.There are also records of three much less encountered species,the Field Cuckoo,the Vestal Cuckoo, and the Hill Cuckoo.

These latter three are parasitic bumblebees that lay their eggs in other species nests and then kill the resident queen.The occupants of the nest then rear the cuckoos' offspring unaware that it is not their own species.

There are over two hundred species of solitary bee in the UK and most can be very difficult to tell apart.

They are so named because they do not live in colonies, unlike bumblebees and honeybees.Their nests range from hollow plant stems to holes in cliffs,walls,and in the ground.

All solitary bees are first class pollinators and should be made welcome in our gardens.

Title Photo

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

The Parasitic Species on our Coastal Cliffs.