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.