Species Account for ceratina cyanea
ceratina cyanea (Kirby, 1802)
Blue Carpenter Bee
Aculeata: Xylocopinae
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Taxonomic group: bees and wasps (Aculeata) - County data
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Status: RDB 3
Essex RDB: Listed
Threat: Essex Vulnerable
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Species text
The Blue Carpenter Bee Ceratina cyanea is a rare bee confined to southern England, with most recent records from West Sussex and the Maidstone area of Kent. It was rediscovered in Essex after nearly 100 years in 1993 at Mill Wood Pit, part of the Chafford Hundred development area in Thurrock. Here it was present in very large numbers, but the site has been destroyed and is now part of a massive housing estate. Populations in south Essex have subsequently been found in smaller numbers on 'wasteground' by St Clements Church in Thurrock, where most of the site has been lost to development by Procter & Gamble; at the Aveley-Wennington riverside where most of the habitat has now been levelled and is being used for waste disposal and the construction of an access road; along a sandy bank at the Ingrebourne Valley landfill site (Harvey, 2003), which has now been destroyed by 'restoration' work; and at Anchor Field adjacent to 'Lakeside' which is designated for housing in the new deposit UDP. Single specimens have been collected at Alphamstone and Middlewick Ranges, Colchester in North Essex, as well as on an area of wasteground in Colchester which will be developed in the near future. Most recently (2003) it has been found at two more sites near the Thames in Thurrock, both currently designated for development in the new UDP. This species nests in dead broken bramble stems, so the presence of a certain amount of bramble scrub in open situations where dead stems are exposed to the sun is crucial to its survival. It is likely to prefer bramble growing in drought-stressed and mineral deficient situations. The bee collects pollen from a variety of flowers including yellow composites, knapweed and Lotus. References
Habitats
Recorded management for locations with ceratina cyanea
Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with ceratina cyanea
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