BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

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.