A Saturday afternoon off for good behavoir (!) had me heading towards Norwich were I had a rendezvous with Jeremy Bartlett on his allotment.
First though I had business in suburban Brundall for a couple of species of mining bee - the rare Grey-backed Mining Bee and Yellow-legged Mining Bee which occur in the same spot. I found 2-3 of the former and loads of the latter plus Dark-edged Bee-fly and a Blood Bee sp. With a bit of patience I managed to get some photos. Grey-backed Mining Bee is rare having previously only been known from Dungeness and a site in Hampshire. The species has started to spread a little with these Norfolk ones only discovered last year.
Into Norwich to meet Jeremy next via a stop at B&Q for supplies for work next week. It was good to have a catch up and also to see his Pied Shieldbugs that are frequenting Red Dead Nettle on his allotment. A Sun Spurge plant in flower was my first of the year. While chatting Jeremy told me of another mining bee spot at Strumpshaw Fen so I decided to give it a go before heading home. At the start of the sandy wall I found the spot and luckily after a short wait a single Clark's Mining Bee appeared around the nest holes. I have since learned that the colony has been there at least 50 years! Then, by pure luck I took a quick look at the small sandy cliff in the woods and found a 4th species for the day - Cliff Mining Bee.
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