Bees of the Dordogne

All of the images below were taken with my Nikon D500 and a variety of Nikon Lenses

Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea). These bees have powerful mandibles (jaws) that can dig tunnels in wood (hence the name). A huge (20-23 mm long), black bee found in central and southern Europe, nests in dead wood and digs a tunnel up to 30 cm long containing 10-15 cells. This bee holds the record for laying the largest egg of any insect!

They are almost black in colour and have hairs which are dark grey. Their wings are dark brown with a shimmer of blue. The bee inhabits warmer areas and prefers river valleys, forest edges and gardens.

Bumble Bee (Bombus Terrestris). Bumblebees are social insects, and a nest, or colony, may contain up to 200 bees. This is quite small in comparison to honey bee colonies which can have 100,000 bees. Male bumblebees survive until late autumn and then die off with the onset of winter. Mated females hibernate through the winter and emerge from sleep in February. Their first priority is to find food and a nest site to lay their eggs. 

Bumble bees feed on pollen and nectar. The pollen provides them with proteins and the nectar supplies them with sugar for energy.

Ashy Mining  Bee (Andrena cineraria). The ashy mining bee is common and widespread throughout Europe. Generally docile, they are considered safe around children and pets. The ashy mining bee flies from April until early June, most noticeably during the flowering periods of fruit trees, of which they are an important pollinator. They are also commonly seen hovering just above the ground after mating in spring. 

Following mating, the male dies and the female starts to build a nest. Each female has her own nest and the ashy mining bee is therefore classified amongst solitary bees. They prefer to nest in tended lawns, flowerbeds, parkland, orchards and on the borders of agricultural land.

Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena Fulva). It is widely distributed but has a low population density. The Tawny mining bee flies from March until May. It prefers to fly in a multitude to different nectar-bearing plants. It lives in a nest in the ground, and occasionally in larger colonies. 

Tawny mining bees are totally harmless and will not sting. In fact, they are useful pollinators of garden plants, fruit trees and crops like Oil-seed rape. Their nests will not damage the lawn and the little earth mounds will disappear after a couple of weeks, so there is no need to remove them or try to discourage these lovely little bees.

Early Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea). One of the declining species, with a generally dark brown abdomen and contrasting orange hairs on the hind legs and thorax. This species is one of the first to emerge in the spring, males often flying rapidly over areas of bare ground or sitting on dandelion flowers. The reasons for the decline of this bee are unclear. It is not strictly tied to a particular habitat and it will forage from a variety of plants. The species has probably suffered like most bees from the loss of permanent flower-rich habitats.

Sweat Bee (Halictus Rubicundus).  Unlike other bee species that mate in the air, mating occurs on the ground in and around the nest aggregation. Males hover around their nest and wait to encounter females that are entering or leaving a surrounding nest. After mating, females enter a dormant state, and restart the cycle the following spring. 

Both solitary and eusocial types of the species have nests in southward facing slopes built for the entrance of their burrows. This slope maximizes the heat absorption from the sun, making the nest warmer. The in-ground nests are built in isolated areas, consisting of sand or soil. The nests with a favorable slope were thought to increase foraging efficiency of adults and development of larvae with a stable thermal environment.

Tri-Coloured Bee (Bombus Pratorum). This is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in most of Europe and parts of Asia. It is very commonly found in the France and emerges to begin its colony cycle as soon as February which is earlier than most other species, hence its common name. There is even some evidence that the early bumblebee may be able to go through two colony cycles in a year. Like other bumblebees, Bombus pratorum lives in colonies with queen and worker castes. Bombus pratorum queens use aggressive behavior rather than pheromones to maintain dominance over the workers.

Western Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera). is the most common of the species of honey bee worldwide. The name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing", referring to the species' production of honey. Like all honey bees, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers," and small proportion of fertile males or "drones." Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both pheromones and the dance language.

The western honey bee was one of the first domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities. With human assistance, the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica. Because of its wide cultivation, this species is the single most important pollinator for agriculture globally. Honey bees are threatened by pests and diseases, especially the varroa mite and colony collapse disorder.

All of the bove images were taken with my Nikon D500 and a variety of Nikon Lenses

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