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.

Bombylius discolor.

Of course not a bee, but the Dotted Bee-fly Bombylius discolor has a life cycle that is intertwined with that of  the solitary bee.As with the more common Dark-edged  Bee-fly the female scatters her eggs close to the nesting hole of  the solitary bee.The larvae then find their way into the bees burrow where they will develop and finally take to the wing.It is unclear which particular species of bee is used but most probably one of the Andrena species such as Andrena falvipes.

The Dotted Bee-fly has a  very limited distribution in the UK and the Isle of Wight is a stronghold for this species which is classified as Nationally Scarce in Great Britain.