The City Wildflower Meadow at Liverpool’s World Museum has become a vibrant haven for pollinators in the heart of the city. Thanks to casual surveys conducted by the Cheshire Bee Group in 2023 and 2025, we now have a snapshot of the bee and wasp species thriving in this urban oasis. 

A Meadow with a Mission

Established to support biodiversity and connect people with nature, World Museum’s wildflower meadow is a living example of how even small green spaces can make a big impact. With native wildflowers blooming throughout the spring and summer, the meadow offers vital food and nesting resources for a wide range of insects. 

Across two days of casual surveying, the Cheshire Bee Group recorded 29 species of bees and wasps. These include both common garden visitors and more specialist species, showcasing the meadow’s ecological richness. 

Species Recorded

Bumblebees: 

Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum

Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum

Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius

Buff/White-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lucorum/terrestris

Common Carder Bumblebee Bombus pascuorum 

Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum 

Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee Bombus vestalis

Solitary Bees: 

Gwynne’s Mining Bee Andrena bicolor, 

Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes, 

Davies’ Colletes Colletes daviesanus

Hairy Yellow-face Bee Hylaeus hyalinatus

Large Yellow-face Bee Hylaeus signatus

Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum

Smeathman’s Furrow Bee  Lasioglossum smeathmanellum

Patchwork Leafcutter Bee Megachile centuncularis

Willughby’s Leafcutter Bee Megachile willughbiella

Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis

Blue Mason Bee Osmia caerulescens 

Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum

Wasps:

Wall Mason Wasp Ancistrocerus parietum 

Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris rybyensis

Slender Digger Wasp Crossocerus elongatulus

Bedeguar Gall Wasp Diplolepis rosae

White-spotted Sapyga Sapyga quinquepunctata

These species represent a mix of social and solitary lifestyles, with some nesting underground, others in hollow stems or cavities, and a few parasitic species that rely on other insects for reproduction. 

Why It Matters 

Urban meadows like this one are more than just pretty patches of flowers – they are lifelines for pollinators facing habitat loss. The diversity found here reflects the success of the meadow in supporting a wide range of insect species critical to both wild ecosystems and food production. 

Looking Ahead 

The Cheshire Bee Group’s surveys provide valuable baseline data that can inform future management of the meadow. Continued monitoring will help track changes in species presence and abundance, offering insights into how urban habitats can be managed to support biodiversity. 

Founded in 2019, Cheshire Bee Group promotes bee recording across Cheshire, boosts records from under-surveyed sites, and builds ID skills through shared learning and seasonal field trips. Join their mailing list here.