Fascinating finds at Burton Dassett Hills BioBlitz and un-bee-lievable milestone for Ryton Pools
New bee for Warwickshire at Burton Dassett Hills while Ryton Pools hits milestone of over 100 species of bees
Over the part couple of weeks, some exciting wildlife discoveries at Warwickshire Country Parks have demonstrated the success of conservation efforts and marked new milestones for our parks.
Over 100 bee species recorded at Ryton Pools Country Park
The list of bee species found at Ryton Pools has hit the incredible number of 101, a testament to both the conservation efforts and dilligent surveying work from our ranger team. The most recent species spotted was the Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium manicatum), observed by Ranger George. This species is known to scrape the hairs off furry leaves to line its nest, and is therefore often seen around Lamb's Ear, which rangers have planted in Jo's Garden and on the Pirate Trail at Ryton Pools. The lone female spotted by George was seen waiting out the rain on a Lamb's Ear flowerhead on the Pirate Trail.
Burton Dassett Hills Bioblitz
The BioBlitz wildlife survey took place at Burton Dassett Hills Country Park on 6-7 July, with the local community invited to join our rangers in seeing what species of plants and animals could be recorded. Despite the extremely poor weather, an impressive tally of 39 plants and 38 animals were spotted over the course of the weekend, including several county rarirites such as Rough Clover, Knotted Hedge-parsley, Ruderal Bumblebee and Marbled White Butterfly.
But by far the biggest standout was Bellflower Blunthorn Bee (Melitta haemorrhoidalis), which has never been recorded in Warwickshire before. This bee is a specialist pollinator of bellflowers, particularly Harebells, which have flourished on the slopes of Magpie Hill thanks to recent management work by rangers Simon and Phil. Over the weekend a total of 7 males and 1 female were spotted by Ranger George, sheltering from the rain in the flower bells.
The images below were captured at the BioBlitz showcasing a selection of the species spotted.
A big well done to all our rangers for their vital conservation efforts that are helping to boost Warwickshire's biodiversity, and thank you to everyone in the community who has helped with recording species and/or supporting conservation projects.
