BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

(Antfer) #1
July 2020 BBC Wildlife 61

Someevenexploit
seasonallywaterlogged
soils,suchasplastererbees


  • a groupthatlinetheirnestcells
    withanimperviousfilm,sothinand
    crinklyit earnedthemthenickname
    ‘cellophanebees’.
    Membersofthelargeleafcuttertribe
    oftennestinrockycrevicesorholes
    inwood,craftingindividualcellsfrom
    carefullysnippeddiscsoffoliage.Mason
    beesbuildchambersfrommudandclay,
    whileotherspeciesuseflowerpetals,leaf
    hairsorstickyresinadornedwithpebbles.
    Therearebeesthatnestinhollowtwigs
    andsomethatprefersnailshells.The
    world’slargestbee,Wallace’sgiant,lives
    onlyinsidethenestsofparticularrainforest
    termitesinIndonesia.
    HomeownersacrossmuchofNorth
    Americagreetthearrivalofcarpenterbees
    withdismay,astheydon’tbuildsomuchas
    tear down, excavating cavities in wood so


largeandnumerousthatwholestructures
havebeenknowntocollapse.
Thestoryofbeediversity,orat leastour
understandingofthatstory,is stillvery
muchbeingwritten.That’sbecausethe
vastmajorityofspecieshaveneverbeen
studiedindetail,andscientistsbelievethat
thousandsremainyettobediscovered.But
whatwealreadyknowmakesclearthat
wildbeesarejustasvitalashoneybees,not
onlyinnaturalareasbutincreasinglyin
agriculturalsystems,too.
Pollinationbynativebeesincreasesthe
productivityofeverythingfromsoybeans
andsunflowerstowatermelons,andthe
hothousetomatotradereliesheavilyon
bumblebees.Orchardistsnowturntomason
bees to help pollinate apples, plums and

peaches,whilecropssuchasalfalfarely
almostexclusivelyonleafcuttersandalkali
bees.Researchcontinues,butmanyfarmers,
gardeners,andbackyardnaturalistshave
beguntakingstepstoimprovebeehabitat.
If thereis a silverliningtothechallenges
beesfaceinthemodernworld,it liesinour
new-foundcuriosityaboutthem.Because,to
paraphraseJaneGoodall,curiosityleads to
caring, and caring leads to help.

FINDOUTMORE Visitourwebsiteto
learn more about bees:discoverwildlife.com

THORHANSONisanauthorand
biologistbasedintheUS.Hislatest
bookisBuzz:TheNatureand
Necessity of Bees(Icon Books, £16.99).

Atupto3cminsize,this
istheworld’slargest
bumblebee.It’snative
toChileandArgentina,
wheretheintroduction
andescapeofEuropean
bumblebeeshasledtoit
being at risk of extinction.

BOMBUS DAHLBOMII


Wildbeesarejustasvitalashoneybees– in


natural areas and agricultural systems.


Asitsnamesuggests,
theearlybumblebeeis
amongthefirstlikely
to bespottedinspring
across the UK.
Free download pdf