Letter: Thanks to Malcolm Fincham Again For His Wonderful Local Wildlife Photos

Published on: 20 Sep, 2018
Updated on: 21 Sep, 2018

An Ivy Bee on an ivy bush – where else? – Photo Malcolm Fincham

From Harry Eve

In response to: Birdwatcher’s Diary No. 170

I wish to thank Malcolm Fincham once again for a wonderful selection of photos of our local wildlife in action. “A bee on an Ivy Bush” is the Ivy Bee – a fairly recent arrival to the UK.

According to the British Wildlife Field Guide to Bees this species was first described as new to science in 1993 and first discovered on the UK mainland in 2001 in Dorset. It is spreading northwards and had reached the north Norfolk coast by 2014.

The rare hoverfly callicera aurata – photo Harry Eve

The Ivy Bee is worth looking out for if you have any flowering Ivy. It turned up in my wildlife garden a few days ago. While I was watching the bees they were accompanied by various insects including a rare, and rather smart, hoverfly (Callicera aurata).