Wild bees

[Ziggymole]

I have my first bee colony in my garden - which is wonderful but I have no idea what kind of bees they are. They're not honey bees and they're not wasps either.

They are burrowing holes in a decaying piece of 3"x2" handrail. They're quite dark in colour and without noticeably stripes. My son swears he saw one carrying a small caterpillar!

I can try and get a photo but have never been able to post one here successfully

Any ideas?

Ziggy

 

[Finman]

.
Look from google Ammophila sabulosa.

.

 

[Ziggymole]

Hi Finman,

Thanks but not the right one.

Going to try and add a photo.

Hope this works! This is the last time I'm going to try.

Ziggy

 

[Thymallus]

I can try and get a photo but have never been able to post one here successfully

Any ideas?

Ziggy

I think from memory you need to resize them to 600 pixels x 600 pixels maximum size before they will upload correctly.

 

[Ziggymole]

I've given up - I can't even put a picture in an album on here!

Such is life.

If anyone is interested I managed to get a photo in an album on here called ziggy's pics

Why are these things so damn difficult?

Ziggy

 

[kazmcc]

I have trouble posting pics here, usually trying to change my profile pic.

I'm intrigued now!

 

[Obee1]

Ziggy

To post a pic just click the reply to start the post. Then click manage attachment and choose the file from yr phone or computer. Then click upload and it will take a minute to load. Then submit reply as normal when posting. hope that helps.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Here

 

[Obee1]

The picture isn't that clear .. to me it looks just like a honey bee.
But I'm no expert....

 

[Ziggymole]

Thank you everyone - but I'll stick to getting the kids to do these things for me.

That's the little beastie Erica - any ideas what kind of bee she is?

Ziggy

 

[nematode]

Mining bee?

 

[Ziggymole]

It's half the picture it once was to enable me to load it on here......

Obee - I'm nowhere near a novice let alone and expert but I've handled honey bees so I can tell the difference (I think). She's smaller than a honey bee and although there are quite a few of them digging their way into that piece of wood I think she's a solitary bee. They seem quite placid, the picture was taken with an iphone so I was only a couple of inches from the nest hole and she didn't seem to mind. I haven't noticed any with pollen on the back legs but as I said in my original post my son swears her saw one with a small caterpillar!

I'm going to ask my eldest daughter if she has any idea (she's a pest control expert).

Ziggy

 

[nematode]

Andrena Scotica?

 

[kazmcc]

Give me a few and I can find out. Not a honeybee, the way it's wings are set at rest makes me think it might be a megachile, but then I am by no means an expert, but I know a man who is

 

[kazmcc]

From someone who knows his stuff. Leafcutter bee! Either Megachile ligniseca or Megachile willughbiella.

Check out the BWARS website for more information - http://www.bwars.com/ , and also would you please record your sighting on irecord - http://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/ along with your photo and any other observations, such as the caterpillar in the comments section.

These recordings are very useful to those who study aculeates

 

[Swarm]

It's a Leafcutter, check leaves of any nearby roses especially. They cut and curl the leaf before carrying it off like a Chinook to the holes they bore in decaying wood.

 

[stucat]

Carpenter bee

 

[user 6228]

It's a Leafcutter, check leaves of any nearby roses especially. They cut and curl the leaf before carrying it off like a Chinook to the holes they bore in decaying wood.

or a new drilled 10mm hole in the garage you are rebuilding!
The wood had been cresoted two days earlier Within 1 hour of the wood being screwed on, the bee was inspecting the hole. Now it has a finished nest in the hole, and we have had to adjust the construction to not block the hole entrance.

 

[kazmcc]

You can construct hotels for these bees by drilling holes into blocks of wood, or build nesting boxes for other types of solitary bee by bundling hollow stems together, or you can even buy special mason bee tubes from fleabay. Position them with the sun on them throughout the day, and also slightly pointing downwards so they don't collect rain. If you check out the bwars site they have instructions on how to attract these bees to your garden Or, you could just buy one from the various places that sell these hotels. They are quite successful if positioned right.

 

[Ziggymole]

Thank you very much everyone. Leaf cutter bee makes sense as I had one in the garden a couple of years back who made a home in a plant pot on the patio table and I spent many happy hours watching her carry bits of leaf into the nest. It also explains my son's "caterpillar" a piece of rolled leaf!

There were at least 20 or so around the decaying handrail - which is in full sun all day - and I noticed at least five separate holes and bees coming and going from a large split too. Haven't seen any this morning though - it's raining too much.

I will check out the websites you have mentioned and record my sighting and observations.

Once again - thank you.

Ziggy