The 'cuckoo' Bumblebees do not have a worker caste. The females can be distinguished
from the true Bumblebees by their lack of a 'pollen basket' on the hind femurs. There are
six British species of (sub)genus Psithyrus, of which five are reliably recorded in Essex.
P. vestalis seems to be very common and widespread throughout Essex. P. sylvestris and
P. barbutellus also seem quite widely distributed, but remain under-recorded.
P. campestris appeals to have an oddly discontinuous distribution, with records
concentrated in the South West and North East of the county. More records of this species
from any part of the county would be very interesting. Finally, P. rupestris has always
been scarce. It has greatly declined nationally, and is veiy rare in Essex. It may still occur
in the North East of the county, but the most recent records are from the Thames estuary
in the far South.
I am hoping to publish the results of the present Bumblebee survey next year, so this is
likely to be the last season for field recording. I would be really grateful if any reader with
an interest in this fascinating group of insects would send me records of sightings. O. E.
Prys-Jones and S. A. Corbet Bumblebees (in the Cambridge University 'Naturalists'
Handbooks' series) has excellent keys to the identification of species. Records should
include date, species, caste/sex if possible, locality and map reference (for common
species reference to nearest 1km. square will do - for more scarce species, 6 figure
references and more details about locality and habitat would be welcome). Any
information on behaviour, nest sites, pollen and nectar sources etc. will be very useful.
I am particularly short of records even of common species in the Western half of the
county. Records from these 10k. squares are especially needed: TL44, TL43, TL73,
TL51(the Rodings area), TL50 (N. of Chipping Ongar), TQ59, TQ69, TQ79, TQ68,
TR09 (Foulness).
I am very grateful to all the people who have sent in records so far. These include:
R. Benton, K. M. Black, J. P. Bowdrey, J. Bratton, S. Burden, M. Fremlin, M. Hanson, G.
Harris, P. Harvey, P. Kelly, R. D. Kent, P. Kirby, S. Massey, G. Moore, E. M. Parsons, R.
G. Payne, S. L. Pennington, H. F. Perry, C. W. Plant, G .A. Pyman, J. Rose, R. Ruffell, D.
A. Smith, and G. Smith. I want to get the acknowledgements right in the final
publication, so please let me know if I have missed anyone out!
Ted Benton
Provisional distribution maps for the solitary aculeate Hymenoptera of Essex
In Essex and the British Isles the aculeate Hymenoptera includes the ruby-tailed wasps
(Chrysididae), the Scoloidea (including the velvet ants), the ants (Formicidae), the spider-
hunting wasps (Pompilidae), the mason wasps (Eumenidae), the social wasps (Vespidae),
the solitary wasps (Sphecidae), the solitary mining, cuckoo and nomad bees (Andrenidae,
Halictidae, Melittidae, Megachilidae, Anthophoridae) and the social bees (honeybee,
bumblebees-Apidae).
I have recently produced a 1997 update of Essex distribution maps for the solitary
aculeate Hymenoptera. It includes all records received up to the end of 1997 and collates
and summarises all available modern data for the two vice-counties of South Essex and
North Essex in the form of five-kilometre square dot-distribution maps. The maps
contain the result of over 9600 field records, the vast majority of records for solitary
wasps and bees included in the maps are from 1992 onwards, although some date back as
far as 1980 and 1984. The maps for the ants have been much more thoroughly covered
by the work of the Essex Spider Group since 1986.
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 25, May 1998