surprisingly were rather under-recorded. Together with Leicester entomologist, John
Kramer, who was visiting for a few days, we set out from Maldon on 6th August. Out first
stop was the sea defences and adjacent ditches just to the north of the village of Steeple
(TL9304). Here we found a good range of dragonflies and damselflies, including the
Scarce Emerald Lestes dryas, but to our amazement, there, foraging from a patch of
narrow-leaved bird's-foot trefoil Lotus glaber was a single worker of the Shrill Carder
Bee. This new site is some 20km. north and west of the nearest known localities on the
Thames estuary. Further searches turned up another two workers, one foraging from
knapweed, the other from spear thistle.
Inspired, we moved on to St. Peter's chapel, near Bradwell. Here, foraging from Black
Horehound Ballota nigra, we observed 5 or more workers of the Shrill Carder Bee on
plants growing around the car park, and along one edge of the track leading to the chapel
(in TM0207 and 0208). A conservation margin on the opposite side of the track had no
carder bees on it, but may have had suitable forage for the species earlier in the season.
Subsequently, a male Shrill Carder Bee was seen by John Dobson on white deadnettle at
North Fambridge (TQ8596) on 7/09/05, and 2 or 3 workers and a male at South Fambridge
(TQ8596) on 8/09/05. A return trip to St. Peter's chapel on 9/09/05 confirmed the
successful breeding of the shrill carder bee there, with several workers present, still
foraging from black horehound, together with three or four males. Several Common
Carder Bees Bombus pascuorum were also present, but one or two looked suspiciously
like the Brown-banded Bombus humilis, another BAP species. Mike Edwards later
confirmed that one worker was, indeed, of this species (making this the first confirmed
Essex sighting of this bee, too, away from its Thames Estuary strongholds). On the same
day we found our way to another site, further south on the Dengie, along a track running
east from Marsh Farm (TM0203). Here we found several workers of the Shrill Carder
Bee, also on Black Horehound growing on disturbed soil along the track and among
farm detritus around an out-house. At least 6 to 8 males were also present, nectaring
from Creeping Thistle, bristly ox-tongue and common mallow.
Over the following weeks, right at the end of the Shrill Carder Bee's flight-period, the
authors visited other sites in the Dengie and also on the north bank of the Blackwater
estuary. On 22/09/05 we walked west from the marina at Maylandsea. Several male Shrill
Carder Bees were foraging on Bristly Ox-tongue, Michaelmas Daisy and Narrow-leaved
Bird's-foot Trefoil in the Maylandsea Conservation Trust area (TL9002), and adjacent
verges, and further west (at TL893023) approximately 6 males were foraging on a large
patch of Black Horehound by a ditch bank. On the same day two more workers were seen
foraging from Black Horehound at Dobson's earlier locality at North Fambridge.
We next moved on to investigate sites on the north bank of the Blackwater, stopping at
Goldhanger (TL9008) and, closer to Maldon, at TL8507. These sites were similar to
those in the Dengie in general appearance, and presence of favoured forage plants but
no Shrill Carder Bees were seen. The season was rounded off by a further sighting of
Shrill Carder Bees (1 worker at White Deadnettle and a male foraging from Black
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 49, January 2006
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