Rosybee species sightings

Andrena haemorrhoa - newly identified this year

Five years into our formal research into which plants attract the most bees, last year I finally started to list the individual species I saw. This might seem like an obvious thing to do but if you have ever tried to identify solitary bees you will understand that it takes a while to get your 'eye in'. 

There are over 250 species of bee in the UK (due to several probable extinctions and the odd new arrival no-one knows and exact number). Of these around 25 are bumblebees, one species of honey bee and all the rest are solitary bees.

To identify each bee for the first time I normally need to either have a really great couple of photos showing both head and tail, or I need to catch it in order to have a closer look. I do not kill them and pin them, not for sentimental reasons but because I dont yet have a microscope and so would not really get the extra benefit of a dead specimin.

Anyway, I am now up to 50 bee species identified with a reasonable confidence and finding more each week. I dont know if this is normal for a site of 6 acreas but I hope that it reflects the variety of habitats we have managed to cultivate. I am also tracking butterflies because they are both beautiful and relatively easy to id.

I will publish the list under our research section and update when I remember!