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Originally Posted by violetcarpenterbee  I went up to the tree stump today at 3pm. while I was there I saw 2 bees return to the tree trunk, why have I not pics. you might ask, the reason being they fly in and go into the holes in no time at all and disapear, not giving me time to lift the camera focus in and take a picture, at the moment there are not many flowers out for them to settle on but I will keep trying to get some pics. |
Lets hope the better weather that is forecast for the next couple of days prizes them out, and that you are able to get some good pics
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Originally Posted by violetcarpenterbee as I am now certain that they are violet carpenter bees after looking at other pictures on this thread. |
This is the area where we should remain cautious. Assuming these ARE
Xylocopa (and the evidence suggests they might well be) and
X. violacea is the most likely suspect, it is by no means the only one. As alluded to above,
X. valga (widespread but rare in Europe) is virtually indistinguishable from
X. violacea. We also have to bear in mind the possibility that it may be an alien species of some sort. It is only a handful of years ago that Steve Falk found
X. virginica (from USA) flying around in Warwickshire, presumably brought in with wooden packing cases by the US military in the area.
I believe your part of Leicestershire is an important national hub in the road haulage industry, and there are large numbers of wooden pallets (of uncertain origin) in various transport yards around the area. So perhaps.... bees could have come from virtually anywhere.
Lest see what the next couple of days brings, and then perhaps it might be time to get one of our BWARS team to come and have a good look (We have a committee member who works in Leicester)
Best of luck with this! Stuart