Ladies first! Here I will explore the Wool carder (Anthidium manicatum) (Megachilidae: Anthidiin) females’ behaviour, nesting etc. and then go on to the males. Unusually for solitary bees, female wool carder bees, are smaller than males and females...
I suspect that most people when we talk about pollinators, simply think about bees, whether bumblebees, honey or solitary bees. They may not be aware that there are many other pollinators of flowers which they did not consider as pollinators. This book explains what a...
Gasteruption jaculator and the hylaeus bee battle inside a nurturing nature nest box Since having common yellow face bees (Hylaues communis) nesting in my nest boxes, the alien-looking Gasteruption jaculator is a regular visitor with numbers increasing as the common...
Prof Dave Goulson’s new book ‘Silent Earth’- My Review How do you write a review of a book that is packed full of so many facts, which as an environmentalist myself, I find interesting and to be honest, worrying? It is a powerhouse of information. So...
Semaphore flies What a great name for these male flies with the semaphore-like courtship ritual. A little easier than their scientific name Poecilobothrus nobilitatus! They did remind me of the semaphore flag signals as used by the navy when signalling from one ship...
Birds diet and calcium Let’s start at the beginning, nestlings are ‘wrapped’ inside the hard eggshell. Calcium is an essential element in the diet of birds, particularly when they are producing eggs which need calcium to be viable. Insects are low in...
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