Head in the Sand

16 Aug

Bee Wolf emerging from its burrow in the sand — **Bee Wolf** *(Philanthus triangulum)*

I spent quite a lot of time recently watching and following the invertebrate life found, at ground level, around sandy habitats (before the heat wave put a stop to proceedings due to the lack of shady spots at these areas, to escape the sun) With an assortment of burrowing bees and wasps all getting on with their lives in close proximity to one another, it’s always fascinating to watch. It can be a real challenge from a photographic point of view because the general pace of life around these areas is pretty manic. There definitely aren’t any easy targets but once you familiarise yourself with the different species and their behaviour, there are brief moments where things slow down slightly and rewards can be reaped.

The Green-Eyed Flower Bee is definitely one of the harder species to photograph, with its characteristic high pitched buzz and highly erratic flight. It darts from one spot to another, occasionally hovering for a fraction of a second in between. The pitch of its hum increases almost as if it has dropped down a gear to deal with the extra effort required. Plenty of luck involved with getting a flight shot as well as finding a dormant individual as they seldom stay still for long.

Green-Eyed Flower Bee flying over its sandy burrow — **Green-Eyed Flower Bee** *(Anthophora bimaculata)*

I think the flower bees are pretty much the only insects in these areas that don’t have any gruesome tendencies. It can be a real horror show, with just about every wasp looking to parasitise another species. The Ruby-Tailed Wasp, searches for an appropriate nest to lay its eggs in so that when they hatch, they can feed on the larvae already down there. The Bee Wolf will paralyse bees, placing them in chambers. An egg is laid with the bee and once the larvae emerges it will be presented with its first meal. Just in case this wasn’t all sinister enough the bee wolf adds the final creepy touch by bricking the entrance shut, burying the bee alive.

Ichneumon Wasps will do the same thing as bee wolves only they use caterpillars instead. Now I’ve seen lots of these wasps fly in, carrying fairly small green caterpillars and then precede to bury them but one of them in particular, stood out recently. This wasp selected a caterpillar so large that it couldn’t fly with it so had to carry it around until it found a suitable spot for burial. After what looked like a pretty tiring ordeal, it became clear that this wasp probably hadn’t collected a host this size before. By the time it dug a hole and hauled the caterpillar down, the end of it was still sticking out of the ground. Realising it had underestimated its catch, the wasp had to use even more energy, pushing the caterpillar out again in order dig a deeper burrow. It probably went for the more familiar small green caterpillar next time.