Iconic Bees: South East EnglandPotter Flower Bee

Bees are a vital to the ecology of the UK and provide significant social and economic benefits through crop pollination and maintaining the character of the landscape. Recent years have seen substantial declines in many species of bees within the UK. This report takes a closer look at how 13 ‘iconic’ bee species are faring in each English region, as well as Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. In South East England the report focusses on the Anthophora retusa.

Authors Rebecca L. Evans and Simon G. Potts, University of Reading.

Through collating information on the 13 iconic bee species, common themes have emerged on the causes of decline, and the actions that can be taken to help reverse it.

The most pervasive causes of bee species decline are to be found in the way our countryside has changed in the past 60 years. Intensification of grazing regimes, an increase in pesticide use, loss of biodiverse field margins and hedgerows, the trend towards sterile monoculture, insensitive development and the sprawl of towns and cities are the main factors in this.

I agree with the need for a comprehensive Bee Action Plan led by the UK Government in order to counteract these causes of decline, as called for by Friends of the Earth. But households and communities, local authorities and agencies, and devolved governments can also make a significant difference. And while it’s critical that the UK Government acts to reverse the decline in all bee species, some of the iconic bees identified in this research also have very specific and local needs.

Overarching Recommendations include:

> Governmenti, local wildlife groups and local authorities to raise awareness of bee diversity and pollinators’ ecological and economic importance.

> Government to ensure further surveying and monitoring of wild bees to establish more accurate population numbers and changes.

> Government to ensure there is enough expertise and advice available for landowners, local authorities and farmers to inform bee-friendly land management.

> Government, local wildlife groups and local authorities to promote sympathetic grazing regimes to landowners and farmers that ensure adequate bee-friendly forage availability until the end of summer/early autumn.

> Government to encourage farmers to take-up the most beneficial Agri-environment options such as sowing pollen and nectar mixes, buffer strips, wildflower margins, sympathetically managed hay meadows and semi-natural grasslands. These options need to be widely available and financially viable for the landowner.

> Government to set quantitative targets for the reduction of all pesticide use and to encourage the use of alternative pest management methods.

> Government to ensure protection for sites of importance to rare and threatened bees, for example with SSSI designation.

> Government and Local planning authorities to ensure that biodiversity priority lists and action plans are consulted as part of their consideration of any planning or development proposals and damage to priority species and habitats avoided.

> Local planning authorities to encourage developers to include bee-friendly habitat when carrying out developments.

> Planning authorities to identify important populations of rare or threatened bee species and significant sites for bees in their local plans, ensuring that they are adequately protected.

> Local authorities and local wildlife groups to encourage gardeners and local communities to grow more wild and/or bee-friendly plants in open spaces and gardens.

> Local authorities to grow more bee friendly plants in parks and open spaces.

These actions cut across various policy areas and involve multiple actors. Friends of the Earth’s call for a Bee Action Plan is primarily aimed at the UK government, but would involve devolved governments, key stakeholders such as farmers, bee keepers, local authorities and agencies to advise on its content and implementation.

Simon G. Potts, Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading.i Government refers to UK Government or where powers are devolved to the relevant devolved Government

Key Facts: > This bee has declined so rapidly

and severely that it is now only found at a handful of sites on South East coasts since 1990.

> The ‘cuckoo’ bee that depends on this bee for its survival is now thought extinct in the UK.

Best place to see: Seaford, Sussex.

Anthophora retusa female, Cuckmore, East Sussex. © Steven Falk

DescriptionThis solitary bee belongs to a group of species known as ‘flower bees’ which at first glance resemble bumblebees however unlike bumblebees they are not social, hence the term ‘solitary’. They can usually be distinguished by their characteristic flight which is a very fast darting and hovering between flowers, often with their extremely long tongue extended as they approach.

The females are very hairy black bees with orangey red hairs on their hind legs. The males on the other hand are a brownish ginger all over leading to a darker tail and have yellow markings on the face. The species is very difficult to tell apart from the widespread Hairy-footed Flower Bee, Anthophora plumipes but with the help of a hand lens can be distinguished by the yellowy brown rather than black spurs on its hind legs (females). In males A. retusa has fewer yellow markings on its face compared to A. plumipes and also doesn’t have the tuft of hair at the end of its middle leg that A. plumipes has.

Distribution and Status> This bee appears to be undergoing a widespread decline throughout its

European range, similar to many bumblebee species.

> In the British Isles, the Potter Flower Bee was once widely distributed throughout the South of England but has declined so rapidly and severely that since 1990 it has only been recorded at a handful of sites in Dorset, North Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, East Sussex and North Essex.

> This species can be found both inland and on coastal sites where it has a preference for sandy soils. The habitats it usually occupies are places such as dunes, cliffs and commons.

The Potter Flower bee is listed as Endangeredœ in the revised Red Data Book (RDB1) for the British Isles (Falk, 1991) and is on the England Biodiversity Strategy S412 species list (previously the UK List of Priority Species and Habitats under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP)). 1 A status given to species at risk of becoming extinct if causal factors continue operating. The species exists in five or fewer

10km grid squares of the UK.2 This is a list of species and habitats identified to be of biodiversity conservation priority in England that should be taken

into consideration during planning and development initiatives.

Common name: Potter Flower Bee

Latin name:Anthophora retusa

South East England is a key area for the Anthophora retusa.© Map copyright: See back cover.

Ecology and Behaviour> The female Potter Flower Bee excavates nesting burrows from the soil (often

in the sandy exposures on cliffs) and off of this she builds individual nest partitions or ‘cells’. In each cell the female lays an egg provisioned with pollen (moistened with nectar) that the growing bee (larva) will feed on. It will then undergo metamorphosis, forming a pupa in which it totally transforms, later breaking through its cell to emerge from the burrow as the adult. It is usual that a number of females will nest close together at the same site in an aggregation; however they ‘work’ completely independently from one other.

> Emergence of the first individuals takes place around the beginning of April; the males first followed by the females and after mating takes place the females start building their own nest burrows, laying eggs and provisioning them with food etc.

> The bee not only needs to collect pollen for its young, it also needs a bit of this protein itself along with energy from sugary nectar in order to remain active as long as possible. It gathers these resources from a range of flowering plants with an apparent preference for Ground-Ivy and leguminous plants such as Bird’s-Foot Trefoil, Clovers and Vetches. It has also been recorded visiting flowers of Bramble, Iris, Houndstongue, Dandelion, Thrift, Wallflower and Wild Radish. It is thought that the Ground-Ivy is an important nectar plant and there are good stands of this at the site of the species’ stronghold in East Sussex.

> The foraging and nesting activity of this species will continue until around the middle of June by which time all individuals will have died; the males first followed by the females. The young overwinter in their cells and emerge in the spring as their parents did the previous year and so the whole cycle begins again.

> Over a quarter of British bee species are known as cleptoparasites or ‘Cuckoo Bees’. This means that they enter nests of other bees and lay their own egg in an occupied cell, which in turn hatches and eats both host larva and pollen provision. The cuckoo bee Melecta luctuosa is the known parasite of the Potter Flower Bee however probably as a result of its host’s dramatic decline, is now thought extinct in the British Isles as there haven’t been any records for about 100 years. It may nevertheless still be parasitized by Melecta albifrons, the cuckoo of the much more abundant Hairy-footed Flower Bee mentioned earlier.

Causes of Decline and Conservation> The reasons for decline of the Potter Flower Bee remain largely unclear but are

thought to be linked to the widespread and rapid intensification of agricultural practices, as well as urban and industrial development that has taken place post WWII.

> The resultant habitat loss and fragmentation in turn leads to a reduction or total absence of the bee’s nesting or more often food resources at critical parts of its life-cycle. This could explain why it appears to be declining not just in the U.K but in its entire North-European distribution, not unlike several bumblebee species. One of the species’ most important populations near Seaford on the East Sussex coast is additionally under threat from flooding and sea encroachment.

> Some sites could still potentially support the bee but areas of the correct resources are so fragmented that populations are unable to disperse the distance to them.

> In 2010-11 the aculeate conservation organisation, Hymettus undertook surveys of the area from Cuckmere Haven to High and Over next to one of the species’ strongholds at Seaford in East Sussex to identify possible nesting and foraging areas that the bee might potentially expand into. They found that the surrounding habitat provided quite a lot of potential nesting sites

but an inadequate amount of forage. It was noted that rabbits were having a significant over grazing impact in the area and suggested that any future beneficial grazing management of the area would have to include management of the rabbit population also.

> A subsequent meeting was held with the Sussex Wildlife Trust with representatives from local government, Natural England, South Downs Joint Committee and the National Trust in order to discuss habitat enhancement and restoration in the area, namely for A. retusa but also for a number of other bee species. The provision of forage plants in strips of wildflowers sown in the margins of the adjacent farm would be one of the options along with implementation of a suitable cutting/grazing regime which allows the presence of adequate forage areas throughout the bee’s life cycle. the National Park and Natural England have now set out plans for the management of the target area and its subsequent monitoring

RecommendationsThe report authors agree with the need for a Bee Action Plan to address urgent actions to be taken by the UK government, as called for by Friends of the Earth’s Bee Cause campaign.

Further potential strategies to assist A. retusa and in turn its endangered cuckoo bee Melecta albifrons include the following:

> UK Government to introduce a national programme to monitor populations of wild pollinators including declining, threatened or rare bee species such as A. retusa.

> Local recorders and wildlife groups to further investigate the bee’s life-cycle requirements (i.e. nesting site, material and food plant species) would be very useful but as a consequence of the bee’s rarity would prove quite problematic.

> Local recorders and/or wildlife organisations to continue survey work of existing populations in the area and identify any new sites where the species was previously unknown.

> Local recorders and wildlife groups to record the species and submit the data to the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS).

> Local recorders and wildlife groups to identify any corridors of potentially suitable habitat between existing populations and relate this to the species’ dispersal distance and propensity. This information can then be used to determine if colonisation of these sites would be feasible given appropriate management of the corridor.

> If a corridor is established then it should be monitored by local authorities, wildlife groups, or recorders. If it is deemed particularly important, the local authorities should incorporate it into their local plans to provide protection for the corridor and the species dependent upon it.

> The public, local recorders and NGOs/wildlife groups to continue to raise awareness of A. retusa with other members of the public, local conservation organisations, local authorities, local MPs and land owners/managers where the bee occurs or where it could potentially occur.

> Government agencies, local wildlife organisations and local authorities giving advice to landowners in the above areas (and those surrounding) to promote the bee’s required habitat and forage. This might include introduction of a cutting/grazing regime where areas of forage habitat are not cut until after completion of the bee’s life cycle and/or promotion of Agri-Environment options such as sowing of legume-based seed mixes in surrounding farmland and areas where forage habitat has been lost for example, that lost from sea encroachment and flooding at the Seaford population.

> Local authorities should record any important sites (either already in existence or identified by the further survey work) for the bee in their local plans and

Top: Purple vetch plant. © ThinkstockBottom: Sussex coast, a good place to spot the Anthophra retusa. © Thinkstock

Our paper is totally recycled and our printers hold EMAS certification which means they care about the environment. Friends of the Earth Limited © Friends of the Earth April 2013.

ensure policies and mitigation plans are then in place to protect these populations.

> UK Government and local authorities to encourage developers to include bee-friendly habitat in new developments. This would be in-line with the National Planning Policy Framework which aims to achieve biodiversity gain.

> Local people in the region could also join local habitat creation campaigns such as the Friends of the Earth ‘Bee Worlds’ project and also sign their petition for a British Bee Action Plan.

ReferencesEdwards, M. & Jenner, M. (2008) Anthophora retusa: the Potter Flower Bee. Hymettus.

Else, G.R. (2012) Anthophora retusa. BWARS Species Page. www.bwars.com.

Falk, S. (1991) A Review of the Scarce and Threatened Bees, Wasps and Ants of Great Britain. Research and Survey in Nature Conservation, Peterborough.

Jenner, M. (2013) Personal Communication.

JNCC (2010) Anthophora retusa .UK Priority species Pages V2.

Lee, P. (2011) Hymettus Research Report 2011. Hymettus Ltd.

Roberts, S (2013) Personal Communication.

Williams, R. (ed.)(2012) An Introduction to Bees in Britain. Bees Wasps & Ants Recording Society.

Want to know more? More information about the University’s work on bees can be found at www.reading.ac.uk/caer/staff_simon_potts.html

Information about Friends of the Earth’s The Bee Cause campaign can be found at www.foe.co.uk/bees

© Cover: David Genoud

This report has been prepared by the University of Reading for Friends of the Earth. The authors would like to thank all the local recorders, regional experts and photographers who have generously donated their time, knowledge and work in the compilation of this report, with a particular mention to Stuart Roberts for his expert input and considerable advice. Authors Rebecca L. Evans and Simon G. Potts, University of Reading. Map copyright: © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved NERC 100017897 2004. Data courtesy of the NBN Gateway and provided by BWARS. The NBN and BWARS bear no responsibility for the further analysis or interpretation of this material, data and/or information.