The Tale of the Ivy Bee: A New British Species

Posted byKeironDerekBrownPosted inBiological recording, Blog, entoLIVE Blog

This blog will provide an overview of the ecology and behaviour of one of Britain’s newest insects! The Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) is a species that was discovered in 1993 from specimens taken in Southern Europe. Since then, this charismatic and determined solitary bee has colonized the British Isles and established itself as an integral part of the UK’s fascinating pollinator fauna.

Aaron Bhambra is an entomologist from the West Midlands with several years of experience as an invertebrate ecologist and environmental educator. Aaron is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Birmingham, researching the effects of habitat fragmentation on pollinator populations.

Q&A with Aaron Bhambra

  • Do you have any recommendations for books about the Ivy Bee or British bees in general?
    We don’t have any books specifically on the Ivy Bee that I’m aware of, though you may find information on it in books about European bees. For British bees, it really depends on what level you are wanting to go in at. The British Bees Wild ID guide by the FSC is a great starting point for absolute beginners. Bumblebees – An Introduction by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust take things a bit further. The Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain & Ireland by Steven Falk goes into more depth and has keys that can be used to reach a species identification. The Handbook of the Bees of the British Isles by George R. Else and Mike Edwards is a 2 volume set of books and is a must for those that are serious about bees and includes a lot of detail.
  • How do bee researchers investigate the nesting habits of bees?
    With great difficulty! I studied the nesting ecology of solitary bees and it required staring at sand for hours and hours! the study of behaviour is known as ethology and this includes setting up all sorts of sensors and cameras. It can get very technical.
  • Which insects were pollinating ivy before the Ivy Bee came to Britain?
    Ivy is a fantastic and important pollen source for many insects, including other bees and true flies. It would be (and still is) pollinated by many generalists. Now there is just a specialist bee that pollinates it too.
  • Are there any parasites that the Ivy Bee could spread to British species of bee, such as Varroa Mites?
    There are always risks of this occurring when a new species colonises an area. this is a natural colonisation so the risk is likely to be lower than if it had been imported by humans. There haven’t been any documented cases of this yet. A quarter of all bees in Britain are cuckoo bees that are kleptoparasites of other bee species, laying their eggs on the pollen stores of other bee species. Currently, the Ivy Bee does not have a cuckoo bee that acts as a kleptoparasite to it in Britain. What you tend to find is that as a host moves northwards, the kleptoparasites turn up later so we can expect to see any kleptoparasites of the Ivy Bee turning up over the next few decades. As for the Varroa Mite, this is a parasite of honey bees and won’t be associated with the Ivy Bee.
  • Do we think that the Ivy Bee colonised naturally by flying across the channel?
    Yes, we believe that it is a natural colonisation and that the Ivy Bee flew or was blown across the channel. It can be quite surprising how large the distances are that some insects can travel. Will Hawkes gave a fantastic entoLIVE webinar about fly migration that really puts this into perspective. With Britain, the Channel Islands can sometimes act as a stepping stone to colonisation.
  • Will the Ivy Bee wait for ivy to flower if it is late to flower because of annual differences in weather?
    If the bees have emerged and there is no ivy for them to flower, they will use other plants such as heather. The males usually emerge earlier and it can be seen feeding on other plants.

Literature references

Further info

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Published by KeironDerekBrown

A blog about biological recording in the UK from the scheme organiser for the National Earthworm Recording Scheme.

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