sands and also other disturbed sandy situations (Falk, 1991). It
apparently remains locally frequent in Kent but is otherwise exceedingly
scarce and declined. I took two males of this Notable A species in early
August at Mucking Heath, at the western edges of Orsett Golf Course.
I took two females of Sphecodes reticulatus Thomson (Notable A) in
early June at the Chadwell site. The bee is not listed by Falk (1991)
from Essex so this may be another new county record. It is a
cleptoparasite of mining bees but of the possible hosts listed in Falk,
only Andrena dorsata (Kirby) is known to occur at Chadwell.
The third nationally notable Sphecodes amongst the material identified
for me by John Felton is S. crassus Thomson, He tells me that this is
now known to be more common because the females have become
easier to identify. I certainly seemed to have managed to collect it from
five Essex sites this year at Chadwell, Fobbing, Mucking Heath, Mill
Wood in Thorndon Park South C. P. and Thundersley Great Common.
Family Melittidae
The nationally notable Dasypoda altercator (Harris) is a handsome bee,
the females with the most enormous pollen collecting brushes on their
hind tibiae, which are also used to help sweep sand backwards out of
nest shafts. There is is a good population at Chadwell where I have
seen females nesting in two parts of the site. I also took a male this
year at a sand pit at Linford several kilometres further north.
Melitta leporina (Panz.) is a widespread bee that collects pollen from
various legumes. I have found the bee this year at Linford and Grays
Chalk Quarry. Melitta haemorrhoidalis (Kirby) collects pollen from
Campanulas including those found in gardens. I have found the bee
near Upper Hailing in Kent (det. J. Felton) and in a garden in Surrey
collecting pollen from Campanula trachelium but have yet to find the bee
in Essex. Since the bee is presumably unlikely to be found away from
gardens, I would be most interested to learn of any records.
The scarcer nationally notable bee Melitta tricincta Kirby has a close
association with the flowers of Red Bartsia Odontites verna. In August
this year I found the bee at Grays Chalk Quarry where Red Bartsia is
common especially along the path edges and open areas at the top of
the quarry. There were numerous males flying around the Bartsia and
females foraging on the flowers. Searches elsewhere in the county
28