The Grey Mining Bee Andrena cineraria refound in Epping Forest
Warren Hill Heath has many anthills and Heather clumps with fine grasses and bare patches. It is
Rabbit-grazed and the ground has not been disturbed since it was protected by the Epping Forest
Act in 1878. The heathy open areaof about lha tops a hill but has shelter from surrounding trees. A
number of other Andrena species have been recorded here. A. chrysosceles, A. fulva, A. haemorrhoa,
A. minutula, A. nitida (= pubescens) and A. subopaca are all widespread species but much more
survey work needs to be done before this site or the Forest as a whole can be considered to be well
worked for bees.
When Andrena cineraria was flying, there were very few plants in flower on the heath, so the source
of nectar was not clear. There are, however, Gorse bushes, as well as Loughton gardens, within
flying distance. It seems likely that the colony is not isolated as there are a number of areas within
Epping Forest with similar plants and geology. So far, males have been discovered by Peter Harvey
flying amongst the heather at Strawberry Hill (TQ413966), a small remnant of heath about a kilometre
to the north and at Woodford Golf course (TQ3992), about 3 km south from Warren Hill. Those at
Woodford were visiting Gorse flowers. We plan to try and locate the nest burrows in 2001 and
survey some further sites.
Nicholson (1928) notes the bee as common locally, and forming colonies in short grassy turf. Like
many ground-nesting aculeate Hymenoptera it prefers sunny south-facing sandy slopes or banks,
either sparsely vegetated or short turfed. Epping Forest has been a mixture of wood pasture, open
grazing land and heathland for centuries, but since the decline of cattle grazing some of the open
grassland and heathland sites have become invaded by scrub, threatening the habitat of many species
including the ground-nesting aculeates. The Conservators of Epping Forest have recognised the
conservation value of these open glades and plains, and work is under way to restore a number of
them. In some cases, removal of trees is all that is required; in others, more invasive techniques such
as turf stripping have been used (e.g. Dagley & Samuels 1999). In the short term, the heaths and
grassland will be maintained by carefully managed mowing where necessary but it is hoped that they
will in future be returned to their traditional management by grazing. Areas such as Woodford Golf
Course, which have species of conservation interest very close to heavily managed grassland, and
where cattle grazing can cause conflicts, are in the process of having have their own highly detailed
management plans drawn up.
It is possible, even likely, that Warren Hill and Strawberry Hill, both in Loughton, and Woodford
Golf Course are the same locations where Nicholson recorded Andrena cineraria in the 1920s. The
bee has probably been there all the time, but remained undetected until recently. Nicholson also
noted the bee from Billericay. It would be well worth searching old heathy locations in this
neighbourhood, as well as on the Danbury Ridge, Tiptree Heath and areas near Colchester. Nomada
lathburiana, a cleptoparasite of A. cineraria, has never been recorded in Essex but is well worth
looking out for in any locations where nesting aggregations of the host arc found.
References
CHINERY, M. (1986) Insects of Britain and Western Europe. HarperCollins, London.
NICHOLSON, C. (1928) Notes on the solitary bees and wasps of Essex. Essex Naturalist 22 (2): 81-95.
DAGLEY J. & SAMUELS, A. (1999) Heathland restoration at Long Running, Epping Forest. Essex
Naturalist (New Series) 16: 59-70.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 18 (2001)
59