► Watch out! watch out! there’s an Ivy Bee about!

I’ve been known to hack down the ivy that determinedly climbs my garden trees, every year it’s all out war but not any more. I now have an excuse to let it grow.

Colletes Hederae the Ivy Bee on (yes, you’ve guessed it) Ivy Hedera helix

This gorgeous bee is called Colletes hederae or the Ivy Bee and I’m hoping I can entice it into my garden in the next few years.

Having a clean up in it’s nest entrance

It’s a relative newcomer to our shores and was first recorded in 2001 at Langton Matravers (12 miles from Corfe Mullen as the crow (or bee) flys). Since then it has spread over much of Southern England.

As it’s name suggests it forages mainly on Ivy pollen so it isn’t really seen until Ivy comes into flower (usually between mid September and early November).

Feeding on Ivy – look at all that pollen on it’s legs!

Look out for it on the ground as well. It’s a mining bee so you may see it near to it’s nest on soft (sometimes grassy, sometimes not) banks and cliffs.

Or you might be lucky enough to see a weird mating cluster, as the males mob new females emerging from their nests and roll around trying to mate in a large seething ball. I can’t wait to see a load of passionate bees, apparently it’s pretty impressive!

A typical nesting site outside a house in Salisbury, Wilts, photographed on Sunday

As it’s the last of the solitary bee species to emerge each year, it gives you a really good reason to go out in October and stare at ivy covered lamp posts or sandy banks outside peoples houses, just don’t get arrested!

Well at least that’s what I was doing last Saturday with my friend Stuart from BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society). The staring bit… not the getting arrested bit!

Digging out the nest

We did manage to find a few nests in Corfe Mullen and as we stood deciding where to go next a solitary bee flew in and disappeared down her nest hole!

We also found them at Hamworthy (on the edge of Poole Harbour) flying around Ivy in great numbers (but no nest holes) and a few just on the edge of Wimborne (also foraging on Ivy). They hadn’t been seen at any of these sites before, so it was pretty exciting stuff.

Just look at the colour of those wings!

So how do you recognise it? Well, first it helps if you live in the South of England (they are expected to spread but at the moment haven’t been found any further north than Bristol.

Map showing where the Ivy Bee has been recorded in Dorset
(many thanks to Stuart Roberts at BWARS for the map)

Map showing where the Ivy Bee has been recorded in Europe
(many thanks to Stuart Roberts at BWARS for the map)

Second, look for a bee collecting pollen from Ivy flowers in October (the only other insects we saw on the Ivy were wasps, hoverflys and honeybees). I guess they do look a little like a honeybee or wasp, but once you get a good, close-up look there is no mistaking them.

It’s fairly large. Around the size of a honeybee (or larger) and the banding on the abdomen of fresh specimens is very orangey coloured (however this does fade on older bees). They also carry their pollen all the way down their legs (instead of in pollen sacks) and they do sting… so be careful!

Hairy, stripy and as big as a honeybee!

So, if you do see any I know that Stuart would love to hear from you. You would need to let him have full details of your location, the date seen, who you are and ideally a photograph (of the bee… not you!). See the following link for his contact details and more information – BWARS.

Happy bee hunting!