Britain’s rarest bee is under threat because the only place it can lay its eggs off the Devon coast is also in danger
- The six-banded nomad bee lives on the cliffs of Prawle Point in South Devon
- It used to be scattered across southern England but is now found only there
- If the farm land on the cliffs shrink, the bees could face extinction
Britain’s rarest bee is under threat because of habitat loss at the only location it is found.
The six-banded nomad bee, is clinging on at the cliffs of Prawle Point in South Devon.
It used to be scattered across southern England but is now found in only one place.
The six-banded nomad bee, is clinging on at the cliffs of Prawle Point in South Devon
Nomads are known as ‘cuckoo’ bees – as they lay their eggs in other bees’ nests.
When the nomad’s larva hatches, it eats the pollen stores that the host bee gathered for its own young.
The nomad’s choice of host is the long-horned bee, which is threatened itself since it only feeds on a few wildflowers in the pea family such as everlasting pea and kidney vetch.
And while the long-horned bees haven’t disappeared from the nomad’s former range, the loss of the nomad indicates they have declined in numbers.
Nomads are known as ‘cuckoo’ bees – as they lay their eggs in other bees’ nests and it could face extinction
In the nomad’s last refuge in South Devon, the cliffs provide the perfect habitat for long-horned bees to breed. But even here, both species are disappearing.
Farm fields have squeezed closer to the cliffs, removing legume-rich grasslands the long-horned bees depend on.
If this continues, the nomad bee faces extinction in Britain.
Now insect charity Buglife is looking to help by encouraging farmers to create wildflower margins near the cliffs to feed the long-horned bees and in turn save the six-banded nomad.
