HYMENOPTERA REPORT 2023
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ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA RECORDER’S REPORT 2023 ADRIAN KNOWLES
Steven Falk
I set out below some interesting records from the last year. I am unfortunately being hampered by database issues, having had to change my PC recently, so apologies if I have overlooked a species of note you told me about previously, but my unreliable memory has since forgotten. Previous reports have documented the discovery of the solitary bee Osmia cornuta in Ipswich and this spring David Basham confirmed their continued presence in the east side of Ipswich near Alexandra Park. This species was first recorded in Britian in 2017 and remains rarely recorded although perhaps overlooked or misidentified. It bears a resemblance to both the common Red Mason Bee O. bicornis (females with two ‘horns’ on the face) and distinctly more localised than O. bicolor (general colour scheme of black and orange hairs). In Ipswich O. cornuta seems to have a fondness for cherry blossom and can be active quite early in the year, so it is a good reason to get outside on sunny spring days to start your survey season. O. bicolor has the interesting habit of nesting in old snail shells so tends to be found in areas with more calcareous soils, notably Breckland. It has not been recorded in the Ipswich area. One of the most impressive, if currently transient, members of our bee fauna is undoubtedly the large Violet Carpenter Bee Xylocopa violacea. Members may be most familiar with this or a closely related sibling species from holidays around the
Violet Carpenter Bee Xylocopa violacea
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 59 (2023)