Dear Readers, one of the big pleasures of the time when the lavender is in flower is seeing who turns up. Although the bulk of the visitors are the honeybees from the nearby allotments and some nice big fat bumbles, we do also get the occasional little chap/chapesse, and they are almost invariably a nightmare to photograph. The one in the photo above actually has very pale eyes, and zooms about at such a speed that mostly s/he is just a blur. I rather think that what we have here is a four-banded flower bee (Anthrophora quadrimaculata), largely because I spotted one a few years ago – they are London specialists, fly around between June and August, and are described as ’emitting a high-pitched buzz as they hover and dart rapidly between flowers’. I couldn’t put it better myself.
Here is a rather better photo from last year. The bee in the photos above looks rather greyer than the one below, but apparently this isn’t unusual in older bees (much as with older people). It’s also not impossible (she says) that the photos above are slightly overexposed (ahem).
Four-banded flower bee (Anthrophora quadrimaculata)
And how about this bee, which very obligingly sat on the wall instead of zipping about like a maniac? Well, now I’m looking at my photos I’m actually sure that this is also a four-banded flower bee. You can even count the four bands. I am pretty sure that I also saw a leaf-cutter bee but this is Clearly Not It. Oh well. It just goes to show that this bee identification business is not as easy as you’d think.
I still think that bee numbers are down in general, though. Maybe I should start doing an actual scientific survey, and see if the numbers stack up. Any thoughts on what’s happening where you are?
I’ll have to send my book back as it doesn’t list the Four-banded flower bee. The only one in the book which looks vaguely anything like (certainly the one on the wall) is the Field Cuckoo Bumblebee. But, as you say, it’s tricky identifying these little critters.
No Anthrophora quadrimaculata? Blimey. It’s not just a bumblebee book is it?
There do seem to be fewer in the garden, mostly common carders and tree bumblebees I think with some buff tailed. Let’s hope a bit of rain helps.
Yes, fingers crossed! It’s going to be back up in the mid eighties Fahrenheit next week, so the cooler, wetter weather is a brief respite…
More bees than usual for me this year, I think, but I have a lot of bee friendly plants in flower at the moment and the nearby allotments have recently obtained bee hives. I’m no good at identifying them though – that’s a future project.
That’s great news, Kathleen! The Bumblebee Conservation Trust have some very good charts for identifying bumbles, who are not always as easy to sort out as you’d think.
Love those Anthrophora bees
I love them too 🙂