Humanities | Holyport College

Happy World Bee Day! 🐝 Did you know we have 270 bee species in the UK? The largest and most diverse group is the mining bees, in the Andrenidae family. Almost all of the 70 species in this genus are associated with sandy, dry soils and belong to a genus or group called Andrena. They come in all different shapes and sizes, with most being relatively similar in size to a honeybee. There are some very small species of mining bee called mini-miners, which will happily live in the excavated sand which has been moved around by larger mining bees. One of the most easily recognisable mining bee species is one of the larger ones – the Tawny Mining Bee. 🤩 Female Tawny Mining Bees have bright orange hair and will create nesting aggregations with other Tawny Mining Bees in garden lawns. Like many other species of mining bee, they tend to enjoy disturbed areas of soil and patches of bare earth, as these conditions are perfect for establishing nests. It must be stressed, however, that although mining bees nest in the same areas over many generations, they are not social or even primitively social species and are therefore regarded as solitary bees. 🐝 Learn more about bees with our courses and guides: buff.ly/QcdJ5YZ #WorldBeeDay #BeeConservation #Hymenoptera #Wildlife #GardenWildlife #SaveTheBees 📸 Photos by Olivia Watts

All of us at Field Studies Council wish Sir David Attenborough a very happy 99th birthday. He's done so much to open our eyes to the wonders of the natural world and to alert us to the dangers of not looking after it.