Nature on our Doorsteps: The Hairy-footed flower bee
Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into nature on our doorsteps and the beautiful biodiversity of its plants and wildlife.
A NEW species of bee was recorded in Ireland in 2022.
The unusually named ‘Hairy-footed Flower Bee’ was spotted and photographed in a garden in Harold’s Cross.
As both a male and a female bee were recorded, it is possible that this species may now be breeding in Ireland.
This bee is one of the bee species that can be seen as early as February and March.
While it might look a bit like a stout little bumblebee, it is in fact a solitary bee species.
It does not live in a hive with other bees.
Instead, it lays its eggs in its own little nest in the mortar of an old wall, or sometimes in the ground in a narrow tunnel of dry, hard, clay.
Yellow Primroses and pinky-blue Lungwort will attract the Hairy-footed Flower Bee
Male and female Hairy-footed flower bees look different from one other. Females resemble a small black bumblebee, with distinctive orange hairs on their hind legs.
The male has light brown or ginger-coloured hairs all over his body.
He also has distinctive long hairs on his lower legs and feet which give the species its name.
In Latin, the bee’s name is Anthophora plumipes.
This is derived from Greek, where ‘anthos’ means flower, and ‘phorein’ mean to carry.
This name reflects the important pollinating work that this bee does in springtime when it busily carries pollen from flower to flower.
The second part of the Latin name, ‘plumipes’, means to have feather-covered feet.
This aptly describes the distinctive long, fine, hairs on the lower parts of the bee’s legs.
Males of this species behave more like a hoverfly than a bee.
They seem to dart frantically from flower to flower, and they can hover like a hoverfly, creating a high-pitched sound as their wings beat very rapidly.
These bees like to visit Lungwort, Primroses, and Dead Nettles.
Any sightings and photographs of this species can be forwarded to the National Biodiversity Data Centre website HERE.
