I first met Mike on the famous floating visitor village at Brockholes Lancashire Wildlife Trust Reserve soon after it opened in 2011. Along with his friend, the late Bill Gregory, they ‘owned‘ the chairs in front of the fire in the cafe. Instantly, we became friends with our shared love of wildlife. Initially our discussions focussed on the birds at Brockholes, but Mike encouraged me to widen my interest from birds into other faunal groups.
Brockholes Mining Bees
In May 2014 I photographed my first mining bee, and I brought the images to Mike in the café. We soon worked out it was a female Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria) and close by was a wasp like cuckoo bee, which with a little more difficulty we worked out was a Lathbury’s Nomad Bee (Nomada lathburiana).
At this stage on my journey into Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, and Ants) I didn’t know about the fascinating relationship between mining bees and their cuckoos. It soon became clear that you can often get ‘two for the price of one’ as if you find a mining bee you can often find its cuckoo.
It also opened our eyes to the mind-boggling number of parasites and kleptoparasites that target mining bees, which include blood bees, wasps, stylops, tachinid and conopid flies and even pathogenic fungi.
It was not until the following spring that the mining bee bug really took over. When the Coltsfoot and Willow flowered at Brockholes in early March we began to find mining bees. We soon learned that whenever the sun came out and the temperature reached 10oC the mining bees would appear as if by magic. As soon as the sun vanished behind a cloud they disappeared just as quickly.
Two species were particularly noticeable – Clarke’s Mining Bee (Andrena clarkella) and Gwynne’s Mining Bee (Andrena bicolor). The females look almost identical in photos but are easily separated in the field as Clarke’s are large mining bees and Gwynne’s are small.
Size variation can be incredible in mining bees but on average the species fall into three categories small, medium, and large and the cuckoo bees follow a similar pattern.
Both these species have a cuckoo bee and we soon found Early Nomad Bee (Nomada leucophthalma) to be common around the nesting banks used by Clarke’s Mining Bees. Gwynne’s Mining Bees were also common, but their nests were trickier to find. Once we found the best areas, we regularly found Fabricius’ Nomad Bee (Nomada fabriciana).
Within a couple of weeks other species started to appear and then things got rather confusing. Thankfully, we had help with the identifications from the fantastic “Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Scheme” (BWARS) Facebook group. In his inimitable style Mike also befriended Ben Hargreaves who works for Lancashire Wildlife Trust and is Lancashire and North Merseyside’s recorder for Hymenoptera.
The next species that appeared were Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica) and Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea). Chocolate Mining Bee is very non-descript but is one of the common species we began to regular encounter. We soon learned the importance of the ‘two tone scopa’ in its identification.
We also found a mining bee species we could not identify so we contacted Ben, and he came down to assist. With his help we confirmed this species was Small Sallow Mining Bee (Andrena praecox).
This was a good record of a scarce species and one of several mining bees that are expanding their range. We were particularly fascinated to find that the males lek, flying up & down tree trunks in search of newly emerged females.
As we moved into April the mining bee season exploded and it soon became clear that Brockholes was an amazing site for these bees. The soft sand banks that were a remnant of the previous quarry working turned out to be perfect nesting habitat for a wide range of species. The habitat was enhanced by bee banks created following discussions between Mike and the Brockholes team.
The beautiful Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) was another highlight, and along with Early Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa) they became two of the regularly encountered species.
Amongst these we found the scarcer Hawthorn Mining Bee (Andrena chrysosceles) and Sandpit Mining Bee (Andrena barbilabris).
The mining bee bug had now spread amongst Brockholes regulars thanks to Mike’s encouragement. Our friend Trevor Southward photographed an unfamiliar species and with help from BWARS this was confirmed as Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida) – a southern species expanding its range.
Along the ancient woodland edge that borders the reserve we found Painted Mining Bee (Andrena fucata) and Coppice Mining Bee (Andrena helvola), and the fresh females of the latter species are particularly smart.
All these mining bee species brought out a myriad of cuckoo bees and we soon got to know the Gooden’s Nomad Bee (Nomada goodeniana) and Marsham’s Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella). These were likely to be looking for Buffish Mining Bee and Chocolate Mining Bees nests. There were also good numbers of Ashy Mining Bees with their attendant Lathbury’s Nomad Bees.
We soon came to realise that a view of the abdomen, in combination with yellow spots on the thorax, would identify these three common Nomad species from photos.
Then things got much more complicated as other large cuckoo bees appeared with red spots on their thorax and various amounts of red & yellow on the abdomen. It turned out with help from Ben that we had three species that were not safely identifiable in the field.
Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava), Panzer’s Nomad Bee (Nomada panzeri) and Fork-jawed Nomad Bee (Nomada ruficornis) were all present and a sample suggested they were all common. These species can use a variety of mining bees as hosts and at Brockholes they were likely to be targeting Chocolate Mining Bee, Tawny Mining Bee, Painted Mining Bee, Coppice Mining Bee, and Early Mining Bee.
Amongst these larger species Mike found a tiny cuckoo bee that to his delight was confirmed as Small Nomad Bee (Nomada flavoguttata). This species was seeking out Common Mini-miner (Andrena minutula) nests which are abundant at Brockholes. The mini miners are particularly tricky to identify, and I will cover those and other solitary bees we have found in a future blog post.
April turned out to be the peak time for mining bee activity but as we moved into May the Birds-foot Trefoil began to flower, and this plant was frequented by Wilke’s Mining Bee (Andrena wilkella). Another tricky species from a very tricky family, Ben was again on hand to help us confirm it was not one of the other similar species.
As spring turned to summer, the mining bee activity at Brockholes was greatly reduced but we were delighted to discover Grey-banded Mining Bee (Andrena denticulata) and its lovely cuckoo Black-horned Nomad Bee (Nomada rufipes).
That brought the mining bee season at Brockholes to a close, but our interest now widened to what other species we might be able to find in Lancashire & North Merseyside. This led to a series of adventures over a period of six years visiting varied landscapes from the coast to the fells.
Uplands
The uplands produced some excellent species, with Northen Mining Bee (Andrena ruficrus) a highlight on the West Pennine Moors. By coincidence Ben and I found it at two different sites in the same week, and these were the first records for Lancashire.
On moorlands with a rich understorey Bilberry Mining Bee (Andrena lapponica) has been regularly encountered along with its cuckoo Bilberry Nomad Bee (Nomada glabella sensu Stockhert). This snappily titled cuckoo bee is thought to be a full species rather than a form of Panzer’s Nomad Bee.
Another sought after species is the Tormentil Mining Bee (Andrena tarsata) and this has been found in Tormentil rich areas around Blackburn, Burnley and on Longridge Fell. Mike and I often discussed that the dream find would be Tormentil Nomad Bee (Nomada roberjeotiana) as there are relatively recent Lancashire records of this rare and declining species.
Trevor Southward again came up trumps with a record of Groove-faced Mining Bee (Andrena angustior) on Longridge Fell. This is a species that is probably overlooked, so it is good to have an idea of where & when to be looking.
In August, the search begins for the Heather Mining Bee (Andrena fuscipes) and recent sightings suggest it is likely to be widespread on our heather moorlands.
Morecambe Bay
Long known to entomologists as a hot spot we were keen to explore this area and there were records of several mining bee species we had not found elsewhere.
With the blossoming of the Willow in March I went to Yealand Hall Allotments in search of Large Sallow Mining Bee (Andrena apicata). With beginner’s luck I found lekking males in the first clearing I checked along with a fresh female.
Nicola Garnham is a regular visitor to this area, and she found a Cliff Mining Bee (Andrena thoracica) on Blackthorn at Middleton Nature Reserve. This was the first record for Lancashire with the nearest currently known colonies in North Wales. A search around Heysham Head and other suitable sites will hopefully locate a local breeding population.
Nicola also found an unfamiliar male mining bee at Warton Crag and with Ben’s help this was identified as a Grey-gastered Mining Bee (Andrena tibialis), another county first.
A return to Yealand Hall Allotments in May produced good numbers of Catsear Mining Bee (Andrena humilis) and a nesting aggregation was located in a sandy path. Once the nests were located, we found Catsear Nomad Bee’s (Nomada integra) were in attendance. I recall how delighted Mike was to see and photograph this scarce cuckoo bee.
We also found nesting Wilke’s Mining Bee’s in the same sandy path and for the first time found its cuckoo Blunt-jawed Nomad Bee (Nomada striata).
In late summer Nicola made another excellent find with the discovery of a colony of the very scarce Black-headed Mining Bee (Andrena nigriceps) at Heysham. These were a delight to see, and Mike enjoyed visits to see this lovely bee along with his regular companion Allen Holmes.
Southwest
With the rapid expansion northwards of several mining bee species the Sefton Coast seemed the likely area for their arrival in our area. This proved to be the case when Gavin Thomas photographed a female Yellow-legged Mining Bee (Andrena flavipes) in April 2023 at Seaforth Nature Reserve. There had been a couple of previous records in the area and a follow up visit found a small colony. This was the first confirmed breeding in our area.
This was followed by sightings of Short-fringed Mining Bee (Andrena dorsata) at Crosby and Martin Mere WWT in 2023, a significant range expansion for this southern species. Even more remarkably were the three sightings of its cuckoo Variable Nomad Bee (Nomada zonata) at Heath Charnock, Grimsargh and Burnley. Variable Nomad Bee was discovered in Britain as recently as 2016 in Kent & Essex. By 2019 it had reached Northants and by 2021 Warwickshire, but it was still a big leap to reach our area by 2023.
Mikes Legacy
Sadly, Mike passed away in February 2022. He asked me and another friend, Phil Larkin, to publish his memoir in which he recalled favourite trips he made in Britain & Europe in search of fauna & flora. Dave Bickerton provided invaluable assistance with the editing and formatting and the book is now available. Please contact me johnwright196@outlook.com if you would like a copy.
Mike’s hope was that he would inspire folk to go out and experience the joys of nature as he had done throughout his life. Mike also hoped to promote the recording of flora & fauna through the online platforms and Facebook groups that have been developed.
BWARS prefer records to be submitted via iRecord and Mike was meticulous in recording his bee, wasp and ant sightings. Once again Ben was on hand to quickly verify records and then they went into the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) database. This helps maps the distribution of species across the British Isles and is a very valuable resource.
As a scientist and scholar, Mike would have been fascinated to know about the species we are finding and the pace of change that is occurring. We hope that through reading his book more folk will be inspired to take an interest in nature, recording and conservation.
Future
It seems likely that the range expansion of many southern species will continue apace, and more mining bee species will arrive from the continent along with their cuckoo bees. The impact on our established species will be interesting to observe.
Perhaps, the most likely species to appear next in Lancashire & North Merseyside will be Painted Mining Bee (Nomada fucata) following its host Yellow-legged Mining Bee, and Red-girdled Mining Bee (Andrena labiata) which is now present in Cheshire.
