<h1>Save the Bees: Meet the Ivy Bees Thriving in British Parks and Gardens</h1>
<p>Bees have been a hot topic lately, sparking concern and generating widespread attention. Are they dying out? Are pollinators in crisis? Can gardeners play a role in saving them? These complex subjects cannot be adequately addressed in soundbites. Recently, I’ve been closely observing a certain group of bees as they go about their seasonal activities. Through my observations, I’ve uncovered fascinating facts that have not been part of the ongoing discussion.</p>
<p>My observations have taken place in the front quadrangle of my Oxford college, which features a meticulously mown circular lawn. It serves as the first glimpse of greenery for tens of thousands of visitors entering the college. Small discreet signs at ground level politely request visitors to “Please keep off the grass.” However, there was one instance when the clever minds of Oxford decided to change the message. Overnight, they split the metal signs, removing the left-hand side. This resulted in the letters “pl” falling off “please,” “gr” falling off “grass,” and “keep” disappearing entirely. The remaining letters intrigued the first tourists of the morning. I distinctly remember watching Japanese visitors kneeling down to capture the strange signs on film. Meanwhile, two German tourists declared them fascinating and splendid.</p>
<p>Although normal messaging has been restored, the bees on the grass level appear to be ignoring it. Dozens of them have been hovering near the edge of the lawn, next to small piles of earth they have excavated. Not only have they trespassed on the lawn itself, but they have also trespassed beneath it.</p>
<h2>The Mysterious Bees Underground</h2>
<p>So, what kind of bees are these? In Britain, there are approximately 270 species of bees, with 24 species being bumblebees. The bees near our grass are not bumblebees. With the help of a handbook, I initially identified them as miner bees. However, a scientist enlightened me and revealed that they are actually ivy bees, known scientifically as Colletes hederae. One of my colleagues, Jonathan Green, from Oxford’s department of biology, recognized them and informed me that Georgia Drew, a former member of the department, had studied them in her doctoral thesis. Despite their increasing presence in British parks and gardens, their presence has yet to capture the attention of the press.</p>
<p>Contrary to misconception, these ivy bees do not emerge from underground until the end of summer. Far from being in decline or at risk, they have colonized southern England and Wales and are rapidly moving north as they are within flying range of flowering ivy. September and early October see the proliferation of grey-green flower heads on the Hedera helix, commonly known as common ivy. This plant is abundant in Britain and grows uninvited on many garden walls and fences. The emergence of ivy bees coincides with the weeks when they can collect nectar, rich in sugar, from the autumn flowers of the common ivy. This nectar provides them with energy, which is crucial for their survival.</p>
<h2>The Intriguing Lives of Ivy Bees</h2>
<p>As a classicist observer, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between bee communities and human society. The Greeks and Romans often made such comparisons, and Virgil even expressed them eloquently in his epic poem, “The Georgics.” As I watched our bees, I found similarities between some of their behaviors and life within the college they chose to inhabit.</p>
<p>Under the lawn, each female ivy bee skillfully digs its own corridor. Unlike honeybees or bumblebees, they prefer solitude and do not share their space. Ivy pollen provides them with the necessary strength to dig, and they return to their corridors with yellow pollen dust on their legs. Alongside the corridor, they dig small rooms or oval-shaped chambers. In each chamber, they deposit one of their eggs along with enough pollen for it to hatch and develop into an adult.</p>
<p>The following September, as the ivy prepares to flower, young male ivy bees emerge from the underground chambers in which their mothers had left them a year earlier. They wait around the entrances to the females’ corridors, hoping for them to come out.</p>
<h2>A Bee’s World and a College Corridor</h2>
<p>In 1979, after 600 years of existence, New College finally admitted female undergraduates. Similar to their male counterparts, each female student received her own room. These rooms were situated along corridors, albeit not underground but up steep stone staircases. Sometimes, hopeful young men would linger near the entrances of these corridors, hoping to ask the female students out on dates. This collegiate scenario bears a resemblance to the world of ivy bees, even though the males aren’t limited to just dating. Contrary to ancient beliefs that bees don’t engage in sexual activity, we have witnessed our college lawn become a stage for what scientists call “mating balls.” Every three years in June, our lawn is transformed into a venue for Commemoration balls, an entirely different event. While the bees remain dormant below ground in their corridors, the male bees engage in a scrum-like display where they collide and jostle with each other. Interestingly, the smallest male bee seems to have the best chance. After this spectacle, the female bee departs to search for ivy flowers and returns with pollen for her future larvae. It is uncertain if she will mate again, while males have been observed to mate multiple times. Curiously, we have discovered that post-coitally, male bees crawl towards the stone threshold of a nearby room where our chapel choirboys rehearse. Is it their desire to expire to the sound of music?</p>
<h2>The Benefits of Ivy Bees</h2>
<p>Observing this yearly drama beneath our lawn challenges the one-sided belief that mowing is harmful to biodiversity. Ivy bees are a type of biodiversity that thrives in mown grass. It is believed that the soil beneath a lawn is warmer, which aids in the maturation process and emergence of these bees. Ivy bees also provide reassurance regarding concerns about a shortage of pollinators in autumn. Although they emerge too late to pollinate fruit trees, they play a vital role in pollinating other garden flowers until the ivy flowers bloom. Studies have shown that they carry various types of pollen on their legs, including the pollen of Michaelmas daisies and clematis.</p>
<p>However, it is important to consider the perspective of homeowners. While bees are essential, having a swarm of buzzing bees near the main path of a garden may not be ideal for everyone. In our nearby college chapel, we allow weddings to take place. However, after the first sighting of ivy bees, an autumn bride preparing to enter the aisle walked past the lawn and was stung near her neck. Onlookers were quick to blame the ivy bees, but their judgment was hasty.</p>
<p>In 2019, researchers from Sussex University conducted a study on a colony of 2,500 ivy bees near Falmer. Despite spending 10 hours among them, one researcher was only stung once. Male ivy bees do not possess stingers, and half of female bees sting too weakly to penetrate human skin. The bee that stung our unfortunate bride was not an ivy bee attempting to warn her from her own experience. The population of ivy bees is steadily increasing, and rather than fearing them, we should appreciate their presence.</p>
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