Insects on Hemlock Water Dropwort at Seaton Marshes

Last June I visited Seaton Marshes to check out the large stands of Hemlock Water-dropwort. What I was particularly on the lookout for was Water-dropwort Mining Bee - Andrena ampla which is confined to the SW England and South Wales. I didn't find it but did see a good variety of other bees and inverts. Here's a selection:

Large stand of Hemlock Water-dropwort, some of it taller than me!

 

female Hawthorn Mining Bee - Andrena chrysosceles
 

Female Ashy Mining Bee - Andrena cineraria

Female Grey-patched Mining Bee - Andrena nitida and Water-dropwort Brown - Depressaria daucella caterpillar

 

 Female Mini Miner Bee - Andrena Sp.

 Fork-jawed Nomad Bee - Nomada ruficornis

 Male Early Bumblebee - Bombus pratorum

Furry Dronefly - Eristalis intricaria

Common Tiger Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus

Thick-legged Hoverfly - Syritta pipiens

Water-dropwort Brown Caterpillar - Depressaria daucella

 14-Spot Ladybird - Propylea quatuordecimpunctata. Usually yellow, this a more uncommon orange form.

Rose Chafer - Cetonia aurata

Metopius citratus. A seldom recorded ichneumon wasp which parisatises moth larvae.
 

Selection of Spring Bees In Sidmouth

I didn't get out and about as much last year but did spend quite a bit of time out in and around Sidmouth looking for inverts in general and bees in particular. Here's a selection of the bees I found in each month of the spring.

 MARCH

Male Cliff Mining Bee - Andrena thoracica

Female Cliff Mining Bee - Andrena thoracica

 

APRIL 

Female Hairy-footed Flower Bee - Anthophora plumipes

Female Tawny Mining Bee - Andrena fulva

Female Chocolate Mining Bee - Andrena Scotica

Female Ashy Mining Bee - Andrena cineraria

Female Grey-patched Mining Bee - Andrena nitida
 

MAY 

Female Buffish Mining Bee - Andrena nigroaenea

Female Blue Mason Bee - Osmia caerulescens

Female Green Furrow Bee - Lasioglossum morio

Male Red-girdled Mining Bee - Andrena labiata 

Male Hawthorn Mining Bee - Andrena chrysosceles

Fabricius' Nomad Bee - Nomada fabriciana

 Female Wilke's Mining Bee - Andrena wilkella

Female Mini Miner - Andrena sp. 

If you look closely you should be able to see that this bee is carrying several Oil Beetle Triungulins.

 

 

Big-headed Mining Bees in Sidmouth Cemetery

In late April whilst looking for invertebrates in Sidmouth Cemetery I noticed a large swarm of male Andrena bees around the top of a hedge. When one eventually alighted for long enough for me to get a better view I was very pleased to see that they were the scarce bee, Andrena bucephala - Big-headed Mining Bee. I've seen one male previously down by the river in Sidford but never any females, so I returned a few days later to see if any females had emerged and they had, together with good numbers of the equally scarce kleptoparasitic bee, Nomada hirtipes - Long-horned Nomad Bee. Big-headed Mining Bee is its only host species.

Big-Headed Mining Bee - Andrena Bucephala

MALE

FEMALES

Long-horned Nomad Bee - Nomada hirtipes

MALES

FEMALES 

I found that they were nesting in an old rodent burrow on a steep bank but well hidden by vegetation. Big-headed Mining Bee is one of a few solitary bees which share a communal entrance but still make their own individual nests. I decided to revisit in a few days and see how they were progressing. I memorised the location, which was underneath the leaves of a large primrose plant, but as it happens I needn't have bothered because when I returned it was to find this somewhat over-zealous strimming.

I did eventually find the nest entrance again by watching for the bees flying in, but it was now very exposed. This didn't seem to deter the bees though and I saw many pollen laden females arriving at the nest as well as several of the klepoparasitic nomads.
 

Andrena Bucephala

Nomada hirtipes