Ivy Bee sipping nectar
Ivy mining bees are relative newcomers to the UK, first spotted in 2001. They can be seen in autumn, coinciding with the flowering of Ivy, which, as their name suggests, is their main food resource. These bees are medium to large (just bigger than a honeybee), with ginger thoraxes and distinct orange/yellow striped abdomens.
The last solitary bees of the year, males appear in late August, with females typically a month later, persisting into November. Having arrived in Dorset in 2001, these bees have spread throughout the south coast of England and have expanded northwards into south Wales and Shropshire in the West and Norfolk in the East.
Location: Dorset.
Photographer: B Williams