Colletes hederae

Colletes hederae (the Ivy Bee) was first reported in the UK in Dorset in 2001. Since then, it has been expanding its territory slowly northwards. It is a late-flying bee (August to November), the season corresponding to the flowering of their preferred food plant; Ivy. Both sexes do visit other flowers though. The Ivy Bee nests in the ground, often in large aggregations. The author was the first to report it in Warwickshire.