Andrena bicolor is a teeny tiny solitary bee that you can spot early in the year. The females are about 9-11 mm! They are fairly common, and can have two generations per year.
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Willow trees are a great source of pollen. Some bees, such as Andrena clarkella, exclusively visit willow flowers. Females of this species are slightly larger than a honeybee but look otherwise quite different. They’ve got a gingery thorax with black haired abdomen.
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You can typically spot queens of the Early Bumblebee from March onwards. These common bees can be recognised by their orange bum and yellow bands. They are a relatively small species. Have you seen any this year?
Picture: @gallenbees.bsky.social
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Join the Pollinating London Together Annual Meeting on 30 March (5:30–8:30 PM) at Tower Suites. Reflect on the past year, explore 2025 survey findings, hear future plans, and connect with others working for a greener London.
Free to attend! More info on the website.
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Hairy footed flower bees are out and about, often one of the first solitary bees you can see in the year. They prefer to forage on long flowers such as lungwort. The females are all black with red hairs on the hind legs, the males are brown with hairy middle legs.
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Did you know? Every part of the daffodil is poisonous to humans? However they also contain galantamine, a compound used in drugs that slow the progression of Alzheimers disease.
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The Narcissus bulb fly (Merodon equestris) is a bumblebee mimicking hoverfly that can be a pest of flowers like daffodils. This is as larvae, the adults don’t mess with the bulbs. These fluffy flies have a small triangle on the hind leg as an identifying feature.
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While we're wrapped up, it’s summer for the blue-banded bee (Amegilla spp) in Australia! Despite the name, not all blue-banded bees are blue. Some have white or green bands for example. Gotta love common names!
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The Adonis Blue butterfly is currently overwintering as a tiny caterpillar on chalky grasslands. When they pupate, they will be carried underground by ants into the safety of their nests. Here they will be tended/milked until they come out as adult butterflies.
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🌿🐝 New Monthly Blog: Creating Pollinator Habitat in Wintertime
How winter actions can support bees, butterflies, hoverflies and more. Practical ideas for gardeners, communities and businesses to help pollinators thrive year-round.
Find it on the website!
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You can, and maybe should, start some flowers indoors now for spring blooms!
Think of sweet peas, begonias & geraniums. You can find pollinator friendly planting suggestions on our website.
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We’re excited to welcome our new PLT Ambassadors! They are leaders from within our partner organisations who have stepped up to champion urban biodiversity. We will start introducing them soon. Look out for the official Ambassador logo on email signatures across the City.
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Did you know the City of London is a haven for wild bees? Our 2024 surveys recorded 8 different bumblebee species, 39 species of solitary bee, and 27 hoverfly species right here in the Square Mile! Not much longer to wait until we share our results from last year! Stay tuned…
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Up to 4 billion hoverflies migrate to and from Britain each year!
They head south in autumn and wait for the right winds to carry them between Britain and mainland Europe.
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Responding to the urge to tidy the garden? Resist! Hollow stems and leaf piles are great spots for overwintering insects. By leaving the "mess" until spring, you’re not disturbing the next generation of beneficial insects.
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Did you know, some pollinators hibernate as adults through the winter? Some notable examples include peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies. Have you found any in your home?
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Those small street planters you walk past every day? They may not look like much but they serve an important purpose. Even a few flowering plants can act as stepping-stones that help pollinators move between bigger green spaces across the city.
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This is the tree bumblebee, a relative newcomer to the UK (arriving in 2001) and now common across cities. They often nest in bird boxes, which puts them close to people and sometimes leads to a reputation for being ‘aggressive’. They’re not. Give them space and they’ll ignore you.
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Did you know? Pollinators need more than flowers.
Many solitary bees like this orange-tailed mining bee nest directly in the ground and prefer sandy or loamy soil they can excavate. A lot of hoverflies have aquatic larvae. Habitat variety is just as important as planting.
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Wasp appreciation post!
Wasps get a bad reputation, but they’re doing far more good than people realise. Many species visit flowers and contribute to pollination, and they’re great natural pest control. If we want to cut pesticide use, we need these guys on our side.
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Flowering street trees provide huge amounts of nectar and pollen in a short window, and some species rely almost entirely on certain trees. Easy to overlook, but they’re one of the city’s most important food sources for pollinators.
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Bee hotels range from simple drilled logs to concrete blocks and multi-chamber wooden setups. Each design has pros and cons such as durability and maintenance. Do you use any at home, and what style have you gone for?
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That holly in your house? Its white flowers fed pollinators earlier in the year and the red berries now are the leftovers. The holly blue butterfly feeds on its leaves when they are caterpillars.
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Most UK bee species are solitary, but honeybees are an exception: they make honey specifically to survive periods like winter, when forage is scarce. It feels obvious once you hear it, but some people never actually think about it. Had it crossed your mind before?
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Insects have different life stages and can look wildly different as larvae and adults. It’s thought that this is to avoid competition for food resources between parent and offspring! Certain hoverflies eat garden pests such as aphids as larvae but nectar and pollen as adults.
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Not all plants are equal in terms of attractiveness to pollinators. Lots of factors affect this, from amount of food resources they offer, to their shape and colour. Which plants are pollinator favourites in your green space?
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The largest fly in the UK is the dark giant horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus, not pictured), with a body length of up to 24mm! Horseflies visit flowers but also need a blood meal to lay their eggs.
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Our Big Give Christmas Challenge starts 2 Dec, until 9 Dec! Every £1 you donate via BigGive.org will be doubled while match funds last.
Help us support London’s pollinators this winter 💚🎄Search “Pollinating London Together” on Big Give.
Pictured is a blue mason bee, O. caerulescens
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Not all pollinators can be seen flying around during the day! Some visit flowers in the dark, like some species of moth. These fluffy ones can be more effective pollinators than bees for some species of plant!
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Some people choose to clean their bee hotels and collect the cocoons, others leave them bee. What do you do with yours?
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