Spring bees

The Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes)

One of the first bees to be seen in the year, the hairy-footed flower bee is a bumblebee-like solitary bee. Nesting in old cob walls, females create little burrows containing eggs provisioned with nectar and pollen. Aptly named, male hairy-footed flower bees have feathery hairs on their middle legs, which they display during mating.

Plump and furry, hairy-footed flower bees can be easily mistaken as a bumblebee. Look out for their zippy flight and high-pitched buzz! Males have brown fur with yellow ‘masks’ on their faces. Females have black fur with orange pollen hairs on their hind legs.

Hairy-footed flower bees have a particular sweet tooth for pulmonaria, a fantastic early-flowering plant and an ideal pollinator plant to have if you have a shaded garden. From March to May, look out for these zippy bees on the pulmonaria by Gosling Sike’s wildlife pond. Males can be seen whizzing around this patch in search of females.

Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis

Aptly named, females nest in aerial cavities, such as walls and bee hotels, and use mud to line their nests. Males can be found flying around bee hotels waiting for the females to emerge. Equipped with special facial horns, females mould the damp mud they have collected into place. Red mason bees are identified by the orange-reds hairs on their abdomen with light hairs on the thorax. Males have longer antennae and a neat tuft of blonde hair (or moustache!) on their faces. Here at Gosling Sike, females are nesting in the bee hotels and have been enjoying the geraniums.

Gwynne’s Mining Bee Andrena bicolor

Visiting dandelions, this little mining bee is one of the first solitary bees you’ll see in the year at Gosling Sike. Females have a ginger top with an orange pollen brush on their back legs. A type of mining bee, females dig into bare ground to create their nest burrows. Early-flowering blossoms, such as blackthorn and hawthorn, and dandelions are important for this little solitary bee.

Bumblebees

At least eight bumblebee species have been spotted here including red tails (red-tailed, early and buff-tailed), white tails (white-tailed, tree, garden and heath bumblebee) and ginger tails (common carder bee).

In early spring, queen bumblebees are seen flying low over the ground and grass in a zig-zag motion, a sure sign they are searching for a suitable place to nest. Most bumblebees nest underground, such as in vacant rodent holes, but also at the base of grassy tussocks. Tree bumblebees are particularly fond of bird boxes - although they haven’t discovered the nest boxes here at Gosling Sike just yet!

Early-flowering bulbs, such as bluebell and crocus, and willow in the wider Gosling Sike Farm are a perfect nectar and pollen pitstop for newly emerged bumblebee queens. Worker and male bumblebees enjoy the meadow crane’s-bill, viper’s bugloss and melancholy thistle in the wildlife garden in summer.

Summer bees

Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum

One of the largest solitary bees in Britain, the wool carder bee is a distinctive bee with yellow spots running down its abdomen. Bold and brave, males are highly territorial and will guard their patch of flowers against intruders – even bumblebees larger than themselves! Nesting in cavities such as dead wood, females comb wool fibres from plants such as lamb’s-ear to use as nesting material. Look out for these bees on purple toadflax and lamb’s-ear at the wildlife garden from June to August.

Bellflower Blunthorn Bee Melitta haemorrhoidalis

A bellflower specialist, this summer solitary bee collects pollen exclusively from bellflowers such as harebell and garden campanulas. This bee looks similar to a honeybee but has a red tip to its tail. Females who often have their back legs covered in bellflower pollen and not tucked into a neat ball like that of honeybees. With few records of this bee in Cumbria, it’s a very exciting species to have here at Gosling Sike. Look out for this bee from July through to August.

Davies’ Colletes Bee Colletes daviesanus

A late summer species, look out for these stripy bees on daisy plants such as ox-eye daisy and yarrow. This bee may be mistaken for a small honeybee but look out for the cream-coloured bands and their heart-shaped faces. Also known as plasterer bees, females secrete cellophane-like material from special glands to waterproof their nests. Females usually nest aerially in vertical faces such as walls. Look out for this bee from July to August.

Inside the Gosling Sike nursery

Gosling Sike is also home to a wildflower nursery full of nectar- and pollen-rich plants being grown for pollinating insects across north west Cumbria. Adam, Horticultural Manager at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and green-fingered volunteers are helping to grow 50,000 wildflowers for the Planting for Pollinators project.

Locally sourced and peat-free, these wildflowers will be planted out at 52 sites across north west Cumbria to help boost pollinator populations. Funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, Planting for Pollinators is a Cumbria Local Nature Partnership project delivered by Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Cumbria County Council.

Written by Charlotte Rankin, Planting for Pollinators Conservation Officer