The Daily Telegraph - 01.08.2019

The Daily Telegraph Thursday 1 August 2019 *** 3

Fugitive Turkish bee sparks international argument

By Henry Bodkin
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

FOR a solitary creature that prefers not
to travel, ending up 2,000 miles from
home was probably bad enough with-
out provoking an international row.

That, however, has become the case for

a fugitive Turkish bee condemned to

death by the UK government.

A major Istanbul newspaper yester-

day called for the insect’s life to be

spared, after the Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(Defra) ordered its destruction.

“Don’t kill the ‘Turkish bee’,” ran a

headline in Hurriyet newspaper. It

came as the head of Turkey’s beekeep-

ers union accused foreign tourists of

removing wildlife. Believed to be of the

rare Osmia avosetta species, the bee

After government orders

destruction of the runaway

insect, Istanbul’s national

press looks to play saviour

News

African ibis

‘migrates’ to

British garden

AN AFRICAN bird has temporarily mi-

grated to a Northamptonshire village

amid government warnings it poses a

threat to native British species.

The exotic sacred ibis, which is simi-

lar in appearance to the heron due to its

long bill and legs, is understood to have

nested in Barby two weeks ago.

The bird frequently visits the garden

of resident Dot Crowe to feast on seeds

and cream crackers alongside her pet

chickens.

Sightings across Northamptonshire

and Leicestershire have sent ornithol-

ogy experts into a flap as it is typically

spotted flying between Africa and the

Middle East, though the species has

been spotted in Britain since 1995.

Mike Alibone, who collates bird

sightings in Northamptonshire, sug-

gested it had flown across the English

Channel as breeding populations have

become established in France.

The Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) warns

the ibis is an “invasive species”, which

means it threatens UK biodiversity.

The bird is known to feast on insects,

worms, frogs, fish and small mammals.

Defra urged any sightings to be re-

ported immediately.

Ms Crowe said she contacted various

zoos to see if the bird had escaped but

was told it wasn’t a resident. The RSPB

and RSPCA were also contacted, while

Leicester Wildlife Hospital urged her

to catch the bird.

Defra said a single bird is unlikely to

pose a threat to native wildlife and has

probably escaped from a zoo or wildlife

collection.

Ms Crowe believes the ibis is at-

tracted to the open farmland surround-

ing her home as well as the food on

offer in her garden.

It takes two Hasan Baglar, from Cyprus, captured the moment a pair of European mantes danced on a stalk to win first prize in the Moments in Nature

category at the Glanzlichter photography awards, an international contest showcasing the best of both amateur and professional nature photography.

HASAN BAGLAR/GLANZLICHTER/BAV MEDIA

captured public attention after taking

up residence in and around the

conservatory of a Bristol family

recently returned from holiday. Ashley

and Louise Toy believe it sneaked into

one of their cases during their stay in

Dalaman.

Despite the bee appearing to be

happy spending its time constructing

colourful sacks out of flower petals,

Defra said the animal should be killed

to protect native British species. It has

since disappeared.

Operatives from Defra’s Animal and

Plant Health Agency attended the

house last night to collect the sacks,

just as the scientist who originally

discovered the species begged officials

to preserve them. Dr Jerome Rozen,

from the American Museum of Natural

History, said the sacks “probably”

contained fertilised eggs.

“They need to have their head

examined if they’re going to destroy

the brood chambers,” he told The Daily

Telegraph.

“We need to have a proper look at

them to get to the bottom of this.”

A solitary species of Mason bee,

Osmia avosetta. is rare in constructing

sacks out of petals, stocking them with

food and nectar, then sealing and

burying them in the earth to allow the

larvae to grow over winter.

Ziya Sahin, president of the union of

beekeepers in Turkey, said: “Many

animal lovers and nature lovers

come here.

“They are able to catch a variety of

insects and bees and take them away in

cages. They come here to do this very

intentionally.”

There is no suggestion the Toy

family deliberately brought the bee

into the UK.

Hurriyet’s ‘Don’t kill the “Turkish bee”’ page

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