Bees and Wasps on Shotover Quickly

… where is thy sting?’ (Cor. 15:55) 100 years of records In the early years of the 20th century Rarities In the insect world, bees and wasps are Oxford University Entomology department worked More than very close relatives. They have four wings and a extensively on Shotover Hill and there are many 10% of the sting, and (together with ants) are collectively insect specimens from Shotover stored at both the bees and known as the aculeate Hymenoptera. Everyone is Oxford and London Natural History Museums. wasps recently very aware of the social ‘aculeates’ as they form This early work is summarized in the Victoria recorded on colonies and can be a painful nuisance. They County History of Oxfordshire (1939), and has Shotover are include the common wasps, hornets, honeybees, been the inspiration for many subsequent studies. officially listed bumblebees and ants. However, less well known In the 1980s several eminent entomologists visited as scarce or are the solitary bees and wasps: even though a Shotover to record bees and wasps, and in recent rare in Britain. great many of them visit our gardens. This is years, members of Shotover Wildlife have worked However, the because they go about their business solitarily and towards a comprehensive appreciation of just how status of some special the hill’s aculeate Hymenoptera are. species can without bothering (or stinging) anyone. Yellow-legged Mining Bee change quite Andrena flavipes, ♀ (10-13mm) Diversity Bees and Wasps on Shotover quickly. For There are very many more species of bee By 1939, about 140 species had been example, in 2001 we found a ‘rare’ species of and wasp to be seen in the countryside and in our recorded on Shotover, yet about a third of these wasp (with the wonderful name, The Bee Wolf), gardens, than most people realise. In total, there have not been seen in recent years. This result which in 1990 was only known from a few places are about 570 species of bee and wasp in Britain can mostly be explained by the overall changes of on the south coast of Britain. Our 2001 record was (mostly solitary), and amazingly well over a third of habitat from grass pasture to a mixture of only the second sighting in Oxfordshire, after these have been recorded woodland and mown grass. In addition, some which it was seen on Shotover every year for five around Shotover over species that are now rare in Britain may have years. Now it appears to be scarce once more, the last century. been more common in the 1930s: the countryside with no records in the county for many years. It is the sandy soil being so very different now, from how it was then. and wild flora Perhaps more surprising is the number of new Some rare species are only found in that attracts such species (about 80) that have been added to the particular places such as dry dead trees with a good diversity Shotover list by our recent work. Notwithstanding beetle holes, or the cracks in dry clay. Others of species, and the northward movement of some species over must have pollen from only one family or species this is the reason recent years, habitat change may also account for of plant, for example, from willow trees. Shotover why Shotover new arrivals. Our analysis so far indicates an also has many bees that need other species of and many of the increase in the species that prefer scrub bee to prey on, and these tend to be rather rare. region’s old pits woodland, and a decrease in soil nesting species. We have the rare bee Epeolus cruciger, that and quarries are needs the scarce bee Colletes succinctus which excellent places will only take its pollen from heather! for bees and Black Borer Wasp wasps. Clearly, Shotover is still an important area Trypoxylon figulus, ♀ (6-10mm) for aculeates, and now that Shotover Wildlife has added many more records from across the county, the importance of Shotover for bees and wasps becomes much clearer. Most other good quality Shotover is a sandy hill east of sites in Oxfordshire are post-industrial; such as 0 Oxford with habitats ranging from heath quarries and railway cuttings, however Shotover is and ancient woodland, to pasture and a much more natural site and supports a number 1 hay meadows. On the southern slopes is of species that are seldom seen anywhere else in Brasenose Wood and Shotover Hill Site the county. 2 of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The SSSI status is because of the fine So where are these bees and wasps? 3 mosaic of interacting natural habitats For wasps, the best time to look is on a and the diversity of associated wildlife. Bees and hot sunny day in July or August; 2-3 hours 4 either side of midday. Most bees are not so The diversity of habitats is fussy about such hot weather, and some begin 5 particularly important for mobile species to emerge much earlier in the year (April). such as insects, which can move around wasps to find their optimum niche. Research by 6 Solitary bees can look like small honeybees or members of Shotover Wildlife is large flying ants. They are usually quite hairy, accumulating knowledge on those 7 and can be seen most easily on sun-lit aspects of Shotover that are of value for dandelion-like flowers. They can be recognised the many insect types as well as other on SHOTOVER by their distinct antennae, and a ‘waist’ between 8 species groups such as birds, reptiles, the two main parts of the body. Unlike many mammals and the flora. flies, its wings will be folded flat along its back. 9 Shotover Wildlife is a voluntary organisation 10 founded to research and communicate the importance of Shotover Hill for wildlife M e a s u Chair: Ivan Wright r i n g Tel: 01865 874423 s c a [email protected] l e A Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum sp.), ♂, (~7mm) i www.shotover-wildlife.org.uk n The best place to see a solitary wasp is c e n t i around the tiny holes and mounds of soil that m e t appear on sandy paths on the Hill. If you wait a r e while, a wasp (often beautifully shiny black and s Related leaflet titles: Heathland Habitats yellow) will arrive, search for a while, and then Geology Ants disappear down its hole Yellow Trail Red Trail … and she won’t bother to sting you! Cover: A Leaf-cutter Bee (Megachile sp.) Talks and courses on bees available Illustrations: Jacqueline Wright from Ivan Wright © Shotover Wildlife 2006 v.4.

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