Bees, ants and wasps

What we need to do
A heath potter wasp is in flight with an orange caterpillar in its mouth. The wasp is just reaching it's nest 'pot' that is attached to some woody vegetation against a blurred green background. The pot is shaped like a vase with the round circular base attached to the small branch before going into a narrow neck and widening slightly at the opening. The nest pots surface is light grey-brown and uneven. The heath potter wasp itself is all over black with yellow stripes across its body (from side to side not rear to front). It has a pointed teardrop abdomen, long slim body, getting wider towards the head, The head has large black mouthparts, black eyes and thick black antennae. The wings are only visible by a clear blur above teh wasp. Six yellow legs with black feet dangle below the body of the wasp.

Heath potter wasp, John Walters

About

Bees, ants, and wasps are all closely related and belong to the aculeates group. All species in this group have four wings (although a few ants are wingless), a narrow waist and a modified ovipositor that can sting as well as lay eggs.

Bumblebees, honeybees, ants and some species of wasp live in colonies and exhibit complex social behaviour. Colonies contain queens that lay eggs, sterile female workers that look after the colony and male drones that mate with the queen. However, solitary bees and some wasps build individual nests and work alone.

Bees, ants, and wasps are among the most beneficial insects to humans. Bees and some species of wasp are crucial pollinators. Wasps are important pest controllers as they hunt other insects to feed on their larvae. And ants improve soil heath because they move organic matter as they forage and tunnel. 

Bees, ants and wasps are found in a wide range of habitats across Devon as different species have adapted to live in different conditions. However, all three groups generally need the following:

Nesting and hibernation sites: Bees, ants, and wasps need a wide range of warm, sheltered places to nest in summer and hibernate in winter. Wasps usually make their nests from wood they’ve chewed, building the nests in trees, lofts, sheds and underground. Bumblebees nest underground or in dense vegetation. Solitary bees nest in holes in wood, hollow stems, walls or tunnels they dig into loose soil. Ants build their nests in soil. 

Food: Bees mainly eat nectar and pollen. Different flower shapes, scents and colours attract different species at different times of year, starting in spring when the queens emerge from hibernation and lasting until late autumn or early winter.

Ants and wasps are scavengers and predators and feed on a wide range of plant material and other insects.    

Connected habitat mosaics: As bees, ants, and wasps have different needs at different times of year, they depend on a network of diverse habitats that provide a variety of food sources.

Devon’s populations

To add – There are 250 species of bee in the UK, ….xx in Devon. There are xxx species of ants in the UK…. There are 9,000 species of wasp in the UK……xxx in Devon. 

Eight ants, 13 wasps and 31 bees are listed as Devon Species of Conservation Concern. Of these, eight bees, one ant and one wasp are Focus Species. The six-banded nomad bee, broad-faced bumblebee and narrow-headed ant are Devon Special Species. 

Note: Bees, ants and wasps are in the order of insects known as Hymenoptera. This order also includes sawflies, gall wasps and parasitic wasps. These species are not discussed in the LNRS as there are no recording schemes for them (although a sawfly recording scheme is being developed). However, many are parasitic and so conserving their host species should also benefit them.

See Find out more below for where to find detailed species records.

Key pressures and opportunities

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Habitat loss and lack of connectivity

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Land uses such as intensive farming, forestry, urban development and infrastructure schemes have led to the loss and fragmentation of habitats across Devon. Lack of management of existing habitats, or changes to their management, can lead to the loss of food plants, nectar sources, breeding and overwintering sites. Many species are now living in isolated sites where populations cannot survive.   

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Climate change

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Rising temperatures, extreme weather events and seasonal changes disrupt life cycles, make food less available and alter habitats. More severe storms increase erosion of the cliffs some bee species nest in.

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Pesticides

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Herbicides reduce sources of nectar and insecticides can cause significant harm to bee, ant and wasp populations. There are huge opportunities for all sectors to reduce their use of pesticides. For more information see Pesticides.

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Funding and projects

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There are opportunities to use funding such as agri-environment schemes to restore and manage habitats and to connect them through grassy field margins, hedgerows and stream corridors. There are a number of conservation projects across Devon which are focused on bees.  See Inspiration below for more information.  

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Community action

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There is enormous interest in pollinators and community groups and individuals across Devon are taking action for bees. There is less interest in ants and wasps, but they’ll also benefit from actions taken for bees.

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Research

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Invertebrates are often under-researched and misunderstood, leading to a lack of conservation action. Not knowing the needs of a species can lead to its decline or even extinction. See Find out more below to see a collection of bees, ants and wasps that are in particular need of further survey and research.

What we need to do and where

Priority

Increase the abundance and distribution of bees, ants and wasps across Devon, particularly those identified as Focus Species.

Focus species

There are currently no Focus Items (sub pages) for this profile.

Actions for all bees, wasps and ants

Survey, monitor and engagement

Survey and monitor species (especially Focus Species) and share records with DBRC and the Devon County Recorder. For more information see Find out more below. 

Support organisations and projects working to help Devon’s bees, ants and wasps. 

Raise the profile of bees, ants and wasps (especially ants and wasps) and their needs across Devon. 

Habitat management

Bees, ants and wasps will benefit from actions to manage, create and connect a mosaic of habitats across Devon. For more information see the Habitats pages. Habitats of particular importance for all bees, ants and wasps are linked below.

Anyone who manages habitat with rare species or wants to create new habitat for them should be aware of their needs. For more information see the list of Devon Species of Conservation Concern and Find out more below.   

Discuss whether to include a general infographic or headline actions for bees, ants, wasps – flowers (including scrub and trees), uncut grass, reduce pesticides, dead wood, bare ground etc. 

Inspiration

Case studies

There’s lots of great work going on across Devon for bees, ants and wasps. For example:

Narrow-headed ant projects

From 2017 to 2020, Buglife worked in partnership with Devon Wildlife Trust on the Back from the Brink project. The project vastly increased what we know of the narrow-headed ant’s complicated lifecycle and translocated nests to triple the number of English sites.  With the help of volunteers, Buglife is continuing this wor

Westcountry Buzz project

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Westcountry Buzz project focussed on bumblebees along the north Devon coast, including the brown-banded carder bumblebee. The project trained volunteer ‘BeeWalkers’ to identify and monitor bumblebees and advised landowners on how to support bumblebees.  What happened to this project?

Where to visit

Always follow the Countryside Code and stick to footpaths and sites which are managed for public access. 

Sites which are accessible to the public and are good places to see lots of bees, ants and wasps include:

Killerton

Killerton is a National Trust property near Exeter.The estate hasa traditional orchard, broadleaf woodlands and wildflower meadows and is a great place to see many invertebrates, including bees, ants and wasps. The best time to spot them is on sunny days.

Braunton Burrows

Braunton Burrows is an extensive dune system on the north Devon coast. The area is a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve as it supports rare species of plants and invertebrates, including the brown-banded carder bumblebee and the moss carder bumblebee. 

For more information on these and other sites which are open to the public please see the Explore Devon website.  

Find out more

Ask for useful links during the Consultation 

Surveying   drop down

Add information on Devon recording schemes – Devonshire Association? 

The Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society website has information on all species.

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme has information on how to help monitor the UK’s pollinator species – add link

List of species which need to be ‘found’ to be added.

General   drop down

The AntWiki website has a wealth of information on the world’s ants.

Buglife has information on how people can help bees, ants and wasps in their local area, including their garden.

Carder bumblebees  drop down

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website has lots of information about bumblebees, including carder bumblebees.

The National Trust’s North Devon Grasslands project is creating new species-rich grasslands, which will help support the county’s rare bumblebees.

Narrow-headed ant drop down

Buglife have published a worksheet on the narrow-headed ant.

The Wildlife Trusts website has information on the narrow-headed ant.

Buglife’s Bug Directory has a page on the narrow-headed ant.

Bilberry bumblebee  drop down

https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/species-guide/bilberry-bumblebee

Key delivery partners   discuss whether to add during consultation

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