| Re: Mediterranean Bee sighting in the uk
VERY interesting indeed!! Both sexes overwinter but there is NO evidence of any overwintering in UK to date.
They do occur in the Med area (there are 3 black species there) but X. violacea is also found much further north and is apparently moving northwards - I guess it is only a matter of time before they make a real impact here. X. valga looks almost identical and is Red-Listed over much of its non-Mediterranean range.
I would certainly need to see pics (as many as possible) to confirm the id - we have had many false starts with this one!!
Stuart |