- Orange-vented mason bees (Osmia leaiana) pictured above (Pic credit: Jeremy Early) like to nest in garden bee observation boxes and are more common than I realised. I mistook our occupant for a Blue mason bee (Osmia caerulescens) because they too chew leaves to construct and plug their nest and I thought they were more common. But when bee ID expert, Steven Falk, pointed out on Twitter the long orange fur on the underside of her abdomen, it was clear that she was an Osmia leaiana.
- Common yellow-faced bees (Hylaeus communis) like to use the smaller holes in the observation box. It’s fascinating they way they create a cellophane-like sac to protect the brood.
- Red mason bees (Osmia bicornis) hardly used our bee hotels this year. The tubes were clean, they were positioned in the same place (under the eaves of the shed facing south). Perhaps the early drought played a part, or maybe they found somewhere better.
- Hairy-footed flowers bees (Anthophora plumipes) didn’t nest in my lovingly constructed DIY cob bricks. Either they weren’t sheltered enough from the rain, or else they just have other good places to nest in old walls as there are a lot of old buildings where we live. I will try again next spring, with better shelter.
- I’ve still got a long way to go to improve my ID skills.
- Red hot pokers (Knifofia) are one of the most drought-resistant plants. I was surprised that salvia ‘hot lips’ and rosemary aren’t but they where stretched to their limit – the roots were in shallow soil (20cm) and there was no rain for weeks and weeks and scorching sun and heat.
- All rooftop gardens need a timed irrigation system even if the plants are drought tolerant as so few will survive the weather conditions we experienced in London this spring and summer.
- More lessons to come
Lessons from 2022
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