October 10: At Jenny Brown's Point, Silverdale. There is great interest amongst hymenopterists about the rapid spread northwards of the Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae). It was first found in Lancashire at Heysham two days before on October 8 by Nicola Garnham and then seen here at Silverdale by Vivian Russell on the 9th. The following day I spent two hours watching/examining a patch of flowering ivy overhanging a wall here and managed a few brief sightings of this interesting bee. They appear late in the season when the ivy is flowering and are known as'solitary' bees, nesting in holes in  the ground, often in large aggregations. They were only described as new to science as recently as 1993 when found in southern Europe, and were first discovered in Britain (Dorset) in 2001. Since then they have gradually moved northwards. To date, this is the most northerly record on the west coast'

October 10, 2016