Red bartsia bee discovered at Thorpe Marshes

Blog post by Chris Durdin on 06 Sep, 2018

Whitlingham Country Park on the other side of the River Yare is the local patch for naturalist James Emerson, but when he comes north of the river to NWT Thorpe Marshes he has a knack of finding unusual invertebrates. That was true in early August, 8 August to be precise, when James sent news of red bartsia bees.

I know the flower well enough. It’s interesting in its own right, being semi-parasitic on the roots of grasses. It’s better known from limestone grassland but also grows on dry paths at Thorpe Marshes: perhaps bits of rubble provide suitable conditions.

Red bartsia bee, by Chris Durdin

Red bartsia bee, by Chris Durdin


It had passed me by that red bartsia has its own bee. I felt better about that when I saw in the Field Guide to Bees that its distribution is shown as almost entirely south of London. These things change, with climate and/or alert observers. Three days later, I went to the biggest patch of red bartsia on the reserve and there they were, about half a dozen small bees with white stripes on their near-black abdomen, buzzing to and fro on the bartsia’s flowers. The distinct stripes find their way into the bee’s scientific name of Melitta tricinctatricincta means three-banded.

I have been unable to find them since. Though the bee field guide says their season is late July to early September, it seems likely that this hot summer it’s been an early season.

For a moment I hoped this was a ‘hold-the-front-page’ moment for Thorpe Marshes, but Norfolk’s solitary bee recorder, Tim Strudwick, tells me he’s had a quite a few records, 15 or so, in the last decade. A nice element to that, says Tim, is that records come from regular naturalists spotting something out of the ordinary, rather than bee ‘experts’. I know I’ll be on the look out for red bartsia bees whenever I find a patch of red bartsia flowers.
 

 

Chris Durdin is an NWT volunteer and leads monthly wildlife walks at NWT Thorpe Marshes. Details of monthly walks can be found here.

 

Share this

Latest Blog Posts

Meander through the meadow - Sweet Briar Marshes guided walk Meander through the meadow ...
by Oscar Lawrence on 29 Nov, 2023
Kites and eagles: the falsely accused Kites and eagles: the false...
by Oscar Lawrence on 20 Nov, 2023
Nurturing nature with love Nurturing nature with love
by Nick Acheson on 14 Nov, 2023
Foray into fungi Foray into fungi
by Robert Morgan on 07 Nov, 2023
November on our reserves November on our reserves
by NWT on 01 Nov, 2023
Volunteer Spotlight: John Coadwell Volunteer Spotlight: John C...
by John Coadwell on 31 Oct, 2023
The marvel of bird migration The marvel of bird migration
by Robert Morgan on 17 Oct, 2023
Beardies, Boomers and Reedbed Masters Beardies, Boomers and Reedb...
by Oscar Lawrence on 03 Oct, 2023
October on our reserves October on our reserves
by NWT on 02 Oct, 2023
Volunteer Spotlight: the Southrepps volunteer group Volunteer Spotlight: the So...
by Guest blog on 19 Sep, 2023
September stories from the reserves September stories from the ...
by Robert Morgan on 31 Aug, 2023
Tips for newbie birdwatchers Tips for newbie birdwatchers
by Oscar Lawrence on 21 Aug, 2023
6 books to bring you closer to nature this summer 6 books to bring you closer...
by NWT on 09 Aug, 2023
Oscar's top 3 places to see nature and wildlife in Norfolk Oscar's top 3 places to see...
by Oscar Lawrence on 01 Aug, 2023
Return of the polecat Return of the polecat
by Robert Morgan on 27 Jul, 2023
Conservation Grazing Conservation Grazing
by NWT on 26 Jul, 2023
World Swallowtail Day World Swallowtail Day
by Oscar Lawrence on 14 Jun, 2023
World Ocean Day World Ocean Day
by Robert Morgan on 01 Jun, 2023
Volunteer Spotlight: Des D’Souza Volunteer Spotlight: Des D’...
by Des D’Souza on 24 May, 2023
Meet the Sweet Briar Marshes Team Meet the Sweet Briar Marshe...
by NWT on 18 May, 2023
Volunteer Spotlight: Di Wallace Volunteer Spotlight: Di Wal...
by Di Wallace on 26 Apr, 2023
Osprey watching at Ranworth Broad and Marshes Osprey watching at Ranworth...
by Oscar Lawrence on 20 Apr, 2023
An Easter book recommendation: The Twitchers An Easter book recommendati...
by Megan Seekings on 13 Apr, 2023
Running for NWT Running for NWT
by Salena Dawson on 05 Apr, 2023