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THE RARE SOUTHERN cuckoo bumblebee has been spotted in Dublin after 88 years.
The bees were found in Rathfarnham last week. It was the first sighting since 1926 when they were spotted in Carlow near Bagenalstown.
A gardener at St. Enda’s Park in Rathfarnham, Eddie Hill, saw the unusual looking bees feeding on flowers within the grounds of the park.
He sent photographs and two specimens to the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
Ecologists Dr Tomás Murray and Dr Úna Fitzpatrick confirmed that it was the rare Southern cuckoo bumblebee.
Eddie Hill said, “I’ve been interested in bumblebees for the past two years after learning how to identify them at a National Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme workshop.
I’m in St. Enda’s most days with my work so when I saw these bees pollinating flowers in the park, I just knew they were different.
Ecologist Dr Murray is project co-ordinator of the Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme:
Overall 30% of the 102 species of bee are endangered and given how long it’s been since this bee was recorded, we thought we’d never see it again.
“Our recorders in the monitoring scheme have been passing on photos of suspected sightings, so we did get a little excited when we received Eddie’s photos, but were delighted when we confirmed it was the Southern cuckoo bumblebee, Bombus vestalis.”
Like other cuckoo bees, it’s unusual in the sense that it doesn’t make its own nest, but invades a host bee’s nest, kills the queen, then uses the host workforce to rear its young.
“Being what is known as a ‘social parasite’, it will always have a much lower population size than its host, making it more vulnerable to extinction.”
Murray said that it could be that the species almost died out but is now expanding again or that it has simply been rare but overlooked.
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They are back…
The recession is officially over…
Hard to beat a good bumblebee monitoring scheme workshop!
Well, I’m pleased to see the return of the Southern Cuckoo Bumblebee. Ireland just wasn’t the same without him. Long may he live!
That’s got to bee good news , I know I’m buzzing about it !
Great book tip for y’all – A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson. Fascinating creatures, and I didn’t pay bumblebees a blind bit of attention down the years. Goulson will amaze you with what we know about them and intrigue/frustrate you with what we don’t. A must read for anyone into nature.
Thanks Winston. Amazon says it’ll be delivered next week! Love bees! Recently got a hive of honey bees on our farm and they’re thriving.
bee-jesus
Well spotted by the lad in St Endas park. Most folks would have swatted it.
Swatted it? Don’t know which side their bread is buttered on those people. Wipe out humans – nature goes on, nay thrives. Wipe out bees – Goodnight Irene – planet earth would be basically Mars with oceans in a short space of time.
I swear that type has been flying around the gardens in my house the last 10 years, looks the same anyway.. Big b***tards
Actually Shirley the one I saw recently in Cavan with a pin pushed through it was quite tiny.
The buzz around town is that this is easily the oldest bee in Ireland!!!!!!
It’s amazing what you find if you actually go out and look, ‘extinct’ frogs, monkeys, birds, fish all just hiding in the undergrowth laughing. We’ve had this grey-a**ed bumble bee and lots of others for years and early Spring this year brought them out to gorge on Willow and Gorse.
The same cuckoo bee that was recently found by naturalists in an old Co. Cavan graveyard has now arrived in Dublin. I am sure that it has been there all along but we just didn’t notice it.
I’ve seen this bee in my garden
I spotted one the other day with a black body and pink arse !!
Ran over one of those with the lawn mower.
Isn’t it strange that every cuckoo bee, in the entire species, does the same thing? Invades the nest and kills the resident queen. You’d expect it from one or two rogues, but the whole lot of them?!
We have a nest of them in our garden.
Stunning creatures.
Awesomeness
BEADS???
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