The Essex Naturalist
101
Marshes in 1985 (M Hanson) and from the Dengie Peninsula and Shoebury Old
Ranges (R Payne). At the East Tilbury silt lagoons in 1995 a very large nesting
population was present burrowing into the sandy silt at the eastern end of the
lagoons. At Mill Wood Pit a small area of sandy soil immediately south-west of
Mill Wood contained a small nesting population. At Broom Hill the bee was very
localised, nesting in a small area of sandy grassland on the south-facing scarp and
at several points along the south-facing edge of the old sand and gravel working.
Like many bees the species seems to have particular preferences for soil type and
texture, aspect and a requirement for hare or sparsely vegetated ground.
SUBFAMILY MACROPODINAE
Macropis europaea Warncke - Notable A
The only Essex record is of a male taken at Orsett on 14th August 1984 which is
also listed in Falk (1991). The bee is closely associated with stands of the Yellow
Loosestrife Lysimachia vulgaris. This plant may now be extinct in the county and
it seems unlikely that the bee survives.
MEGACHILIDAE
SUBFAMILY MEGACHILINAE
Anthidium manicatum Fabricius Wool Carder bee
Heywood (1884) records the species in the Colchester district at flowers of
Ballota nigra, Geranium pratense, and raspberry. Nicholson (1928) notes
"Billericay, Colchester district, Hale End, etc., common". There are recent
records from nine localities, Broom Hill (West Tilbury), Dagenham Chase,
Ferry Fields, Forest Gate (Hanson 1992), Grays (PH's garden), Rainham and the
Southend area (R G Payne) in South Essex and Heybridge Gravel Pits and
Maldon in North Essex. At Dagenham Chase and Maldon the bee was fairly
numerous foraging at Purple Loosestrife along the Rivers Rom and Chelmer and
it also occurs in gardens where it collects the "wool" from the leaves of Stachys
with which to line its cells. It is probably under-recorded and more widespread
than out records suggest.
Genus: Stelis cuckoo bees. Three of the four British species are recorded for
Essex, but we have recent records for only two of these.
Stelis ornatula (Klug) RDB3
= octomaculata Smith
The species is a cleptoparasite of the local bee Hoplitis claviventris, which appears
to be rare in Essex. Falk (1991) gives unconfirmed records for a number of vice-
counties including South and North Essex. A single female was taken at Mill
House Pit in 1994, where the host occurs sparingly.
S. phaeoptera (Kirby) - RDB2
Falk (1991) states that in Britain the species appears to he a cleptoparasite of