Tweet

12th October 2011
Extinct bee found after 65 years!

It goes to show that nature is everywhere and we can't keep our eye on it all the time!  A bee, thought to have been extinct for over 60 years, has just been discovered alive and well in the UK.  Last seen in 1946 this bee is a species of solitary bee which means that there aren't hundreds of worker bees supporting a queen and a big hive - these bees live on their own and create their own nests in reeds, twigs, wood and even tunnel underground.

The bee's scientific name is Halictus eurygnathus and was spotted in the South Downs of East Sussex.  The South Downs is a hilly area with great hills and cliffs of chalk.  With chalky ground the area attracts specific plants, insects and mammals.  Entomologist Steven Falk took one hundred nature surveys of the area over six years and in that time counted no less than 227 bee and wasp species!  Entomologists are people who study insects and with an estimated 1.3 million different species of insects there's plenty of work to be done!

But the survey did bring some bad news.  One of the UK's biggest mining bees is in trouble as it prefers flowers and plants that grow on the edge of fields. Mining bees burrow into the ground in pathways or lawns to make a home and are being threatened by farming.  The survey shows that leaving a stretch of wildflowers and plants along the edges of the fields used for crops is vitally important for a lot of wildlife.  As for the re-discovered bee Steven found that its favourite source of pollen was the flower known as greater knapweed - a plant that loves the chalky soil of the downs.  With this knowledge we can help protect the bees' future and do our best to make sure it doesn't disappear again!

Related Factsheets:

Britain's Disappearing Wildlife
Britain's Disappearing Habitats
Environment - how can you help protect it?



Photograph Solitary bee Halictus eurygnathus © Steven Falk / Buglife/ PA

---

Other News Headlines