The northern colletes (''Colletes floralis'') is a species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

the family

Colletidae The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...

. Northern colletes are solitary bees, though females may nest in what are termed ''aggregations'' – sites where the bees nest close together, but do not form

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

as social bees do. They nest underground in soft (often sandy) soil, digging burrows up to 20 times their body length. It is often to be found nesting in coastal sand dunes and, on Hebridean islands, ''

machair A machair (; sometimes machar in English) is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on part of the northwestern coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, particularly the Outer Hebrides. The best examples are found on North and South Uist, Harris ...

'' (coastal grassland).

Appearance

The bees are medium-sized (with a head-to-body length of around 8–15 mm) and slender. They have a black

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

, with narrow white bands on each segment. Tawny hairs cover the top of the thorax, with somewhat paler hairs on the face. They are very similar to other species within the genus ''Colletes'' and, if more than one of these species shares the same habitat, microscopic examination can be necessary to distinguish between them. Females are slightly larger than the males, possessing slightly longer abdomens, which are also darker and glossier.

Life cycle

Adult northern colletes emerge in late June, and are active until late August. The bees are active only when the temperature is warm. The males emerge one or two days before the females. The females probably mate soon after emergence. The males then die, while the female constructs a burrow which may be as much as 26 cm deep. The female produces a secretion from glands in the mouth, forming a

cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coate ...

-like coating for the burrow. Each egg is sealed inside an individual cell, with enough regurgitated nectar and pollen to feed the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

throughout the winter. The larva lives underground,

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

ting in its burrow and emerging the following June as an adult. As northern colletes do not form colonies, there are no

worker bee A worker bee is any female bee that lacks the reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee and carries out the majority of tasks needed for the functioning of the hive. While worker bees are present in all eusocial bee species, the term is rar ...

Distribution

This is a rare bee. It can be found in Britain and Ireland, where it nests on the coasts of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and northern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, while in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

it can be found on islands as well as coastal areas of the mainland. Elsewhere in northern Europe, it is present in low densities in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, again in coastal areas. It appears to prefer south-facing slopes with low, sparse vegetation; the bee forages in nearby flower-rich areas. In southern Europe, however, it inhabits higher altitudes, being found in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

and

Altay Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with th ...

. One of the most significant habitats for this species of bee is the ''

'' (coastal duneland) of the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

in Scotland where it was reported in September, 2007 that eleven previously unknown colonies had been discovered.

Conservation

The bee has been assessed under

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

regional red list guidelines for the island of Ireland. The species has a threat category of vulnerable in Ireland. The species is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species and a species action plan was published for Northern Ireland in 2006.Anon. 2006. Action plan details - Northern Ireland Action Plans. http://ukbap-reporting.org.uk/plans/lbap_complete_plan.asp?NI=1&X=%7BF5EDB283%2DD649%2D46E4%2DB04E%2DA308A9B09968%7D

References

External links