Our churchyard in May
Some of the first insects to be seen each spring are bumblebees. I’ve seen two species in the churchyard, the enormous Red-tailed Bumblebee, and the slightly smaller Buff-tailed Bumblebee. The queens can be seen flying close to the ground searching for a suitable site for their nest, which may be in abandoned mouse or vole burrows or other holes in the ground. Unlike honeybees, whose colonies may number several thousand, bumblebee nests typically hold a few hundred at most.
But this is large compared to the solitary bees. Although these may build nests close together, each female makes her own nest in a hole in the ground. Most plentiful here is the Furrow Bee of the genus Lasioglossum. If you watch one excavating its nest hole, you will be amazed at its energy: it reminds me of a dog burying a bone in the garden as soil comes flying out behind it. This makes a tumulus of loose grains of soil which can be quite easy to find. Typically, it looks for bare earth or south-facing grassland. Anthills often have bare soil where the ground has been disturbed, and there are several of these Furrow Bee nests in the anthills in the churchyard.
The Furrow Bees ( are mostly black, with bands of grey hairs across the abdomen. They are challenging to identify because there are 27 different species with only very subtle differences between them. A more unmistakable bee is the Tawny Mining Bee, easy to spot as if flies around due to the scarlet hairs on the front part of the body and the more orange-red hairs further back. A strikingly beautiful insect, it wouldn’t be out of place on a catwalk in London or Paris! The males sport a long white beard. These bees are also solitary and make nests in the ground, with burrows that may extend up to 55 cm below the surface.
Also, to be seen at this time of year are Hoverflies, other flies, spiders, black ants – which I’ve not seen in the churchyard before – and many different beetles. While a bee is visiting a dandelion, I’ve seen several tiny black beetles in the same flower head. And another beetle plentiful in the area is the Seven-spotted Ladybird – the most common ladybird in Europe but very attractive nonetheless. One thing that is striking is how all these different insects coexist quite peaceably alongside each other. Is it because they know they’re in a churchyard or is it ever thus??
