Colletes hederae
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Colletes hederae, the ivy bee, is a species of plasterer bee belonging to the family Colletidae subfamily Colletinae. Colletes hederae has been only recently described (Schmidt & Westrich 1993) as a distinct species. Until then, they were confused with another species of Colletes that are morphologically similar, but ecologically distinctive, Colletes halophilus.
Ivy bees are known from Austria, Belgium, Channel Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, southern England, Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. The females of Colletes hederae are on average 13 millimetres (0.51 in) long, while the males are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, significantly larger than the common colletes. The thorax of the adults is covered by dense orange-brown hair, while each abdominal segment has an apical orangey hair-band.
This species is very similar to the closely related heather colletes (Colletes succinctus) and even more to the sea aster mining bee (Colletes halophilus). The adults emerge late in the year (the males from late August and the females a little later in early September... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ivy Cellophane Bee sighting in London on a given day, based on 254 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 141st most-seen of the 1504 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Ivy Cellophane Bee in London on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ivy Cellophane Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Ivy Cellophane Bee sightings, London has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Lyon (France, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ivy Cellophane Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in London (254 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
