Enjoyable afternoon spent at Kenfig National Nature Reserve with @bennyhawksbee.bsky.social and @scotsguyinwales.bsky.social. The highlight was Black-headed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile circumcincta) - a pretty rare bee in Wales. We found at least two males patrolling patches of bird's-foot-trefoil.

♀️ 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎 feeding on common Daisy on the lawn outside the Tate Britain. It highlights for me, one of most important and overlooked habitats for the majority of our solitary bees and wasps: seemingly boring bits of patchy ground. These are invaluable for so many important species

Great to observe a mating pair of 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑟 (Gwynne's Mining bee) in Eden Nature Garden, Clapham, yesterday. A species that nests in slightly looser sections of our hoggin paths and now in the mounds of sandy ballast we introduced (from skip salvaging)

𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑠 ♂️ (Black Mining bee). This male was just about enough to separate from nigrospina. A v.pleasing record from last 2 yrs. We knew they were a few miles away but with the introduction of local, fine sands into the garden (natural soil is heavy clay), we now have them on site, it seems.

Last August I was fortunate to catch and release two of these magnificent little (~5mm) wasps from the inside window. If my ID is correct, they are 𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠 endoparasitoids of Burnett moth larvae. We have lots of Knapweed & Burnett moth on site, so it does make sense. South Essex.

Its Cuckoo wasp 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑎 which came shortly after... (First chimneys spotted June 7th. Host spotted June 22nd, looking to be at the end of its life. Cuckoo spotted June 28th). June 28th, 2024. Hilldrop, South Essex

𝑂𝑑𝑦𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑠 (Spiny-legged mason wasp) successfully nesting in our home-made 'cob gabion' in south Essex. My next post will cover the parasite that came a week or so later...

09.03.2025. Very nice aggregation of 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 underneath a large Quercus robur at West Lodge arboretum, Barnet, North London.

First ♂️ 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎 of 2025. 08.03.2025. Enfield, London.

7-spot ladybird plus 16-spot ladybirds (~500 overwintering on one old Hornbeam) in the under threat Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, London.

♂️ 𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑠 yesterday (07.03.2025) in South Essex.

Mine and @bennyhawksbee.bsky.social’s episode of the Our Plant Stories podcast is here! 🌱 Listen and read more about our morning spent meeting bees and celebrating weeds in a London community garden at www.ourplantstories.com/episodes/luc... @theorchardproject.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social

One of the UK's snail-nesting bees. 𝑂𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑎 (Spined Mason bee) This one is a male and you can just about see the spine/barb on Sternite 1, on photos 2 and 4. It also has the 10+ little teeth on the edge of tergite 6. Salisbury Plain. June 30th, 2024.

Jewel Wasp 💎 𝑃𝑠𝑒𝑢𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 August, 2024

Just found this is the kitchen, in a cereal bowl. 🫣 2 mm long. 1mm wide. Anyone have a rough idea?

𝑂𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑠 (Blue Mason Bee) Eden Nature Garden, London. March 30th, 2024

𝐻𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑎(Adonis' Ladybird) yesterday. About to fly...

𝐴𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟 (Rosy Woodlouse) October 2024. Camden, North London, UK

Jumping spider (Salticidae) on the lounge ceiling yesterday. (Very likely to be a non-European species, I'm informed)

"it wasn't me..."

Look at this handsome Greek Andrena ♂️ mining bee from the Prespa region last May...

A 'stylopised' Andrena chrysosceles mining bee from spring this year. You can just about see the 'stylop' (a family of endoparasites) sticking out of the abdomen. Stylops can cause the female bees to have male and female characteristics, as I understand it. It can also make ID trickier.

Hard to believe we have bees like this in the UK, right? Epeolus sp. I found in amongst an aggregation of Ivy bees this September. Species very likely to be Epeolus variegatus but no voucher taken to be 100%

Andrena tibialis (Grey-gastered mining bee) Eden Nature Garden, Clapham, London. April, 2024

Andrena dorsata Beddington Park, April 2024

♂️ Andrena fulva (Tawny mining bee) Eden Nature Garden, March 2024.

Apple fruit weevil (Tatianaerhynchites aequatus)

First post. March 2024. ♀️Tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva).