FROM BUGLIFE - THE LATEST NEWS

Buglife Logo saving the small things that run the planet View this email in your browser Dear John Welcome to the May edition of Buglife's e-newsletter, BugBytes! This month we have seen thunderstorms and heatwaves, new projects getting underway, Bugs Matter making a splash in France, consultations and of course Solitary Bee Week. So, let’s buzz on over and take a look! The Summer Edition of The Buzz is almost here! This summer issue of our magazine for Community Members is buzzing with bees and wasps! Jam-packed (or should that be ham-packed - it’ll make sense when you receive it!) with: 🐝 articles showcasing various Buglife projects with a focus on their wasp and bee heroes; 🎉 some great Silver Jubilee celebration supporter incentives; 💤 Bug Buzz Buddies; ➡️ and so much more! Want to know more and receive a copy through your letter box during the second week of June? Join the Buglife Community today and you’ll get The Buzz too! Join the Buglife Community Solitary Bee Week 2026 Solitary Bee Week 2026 Wednesday 20 May to Wednesday 27 May saw us celebrating Solitary Bee Week once again, with lots of great information and amazing photography shared across our socials. We explored the intricate lives of solitary bees, sharing their stories, fascinating facts, and actionable steps we can all take to protect these vital invertebrates from environmental challenges. Solitary Bee Week may be over for another year, but it’s still a great time to celebrate these pollinator heroes, and do our bit to encourage them into our green and brown spaces. Green-eyed Flower Bee (Anthophora bimaculata) © Buglife 'Shutterbug' Radoslav Valkov Let’s take another look at some of the distinctive (and often rare) solitary bees you may see over the next few weeks. Longhorn Bee (Eucera longicornis) The males have huge antennae. They love soft clay cliffs but have suffered much decline so this is a species Buglife is helping to protect through projects such as Life on the Edge and Kernow Wyls. Green-eyed Flower Bee (Anthophora bimaculata) These bees have beautiful bright green eyes. They live only in the south of Britain and are uncommon. Green Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum morio) At just 5 to 6mm in size these are one of our tiniest bees. They have a bright metallic bronzy green shimmer. Box-headed Blood Bee (Sphecodes monilicornis) This is a distinctive bee with a bright red abdomen. It’s a nest parasite of mining bees and is common in East and South of the UK. Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) The males of this bumblebee-sized bee have a “yellow moustache” and “hairy feet”. His feet are used in an unusual mating dance where the male mounts the female and waves his front legs in the air, fanning her with his hairy feet. Common in southern and central England and Wales. Pantaloon Bee (Dasypoda hirtipes) Females sport large yellow "pantaloons" on their legs to dig burrows and carry pollen. Female Pantaloon Bees build individual nests in sandy soil, often near other bees of the same species. Rare and found in the South. The Six-banded Nomad Bee (Nomada sexfasciata): A "cuckoo" bee that lays eggs in solitary bees' nests. The Six-banded nomad bee’s choice host is the Longhorned Bee (Eucera longicornis). Extremely rare and limited to Southern England. How to be the best bee hotel manager Where do solitary bees nest? And how can we be the best 'bee landlords' for them? Well, having a variety of nest sites will help, since many native UK bees are ground-nesters, while others choose bricks, wood, plant stems, and even snug little cavities like empty snail shells! While bee hotels are a popular choice for gardeners, only mostly mason and leafcutter bees will use them successfully – if managed correctly. Sadly, shop-bought bee hotels are often poorly designed, and can even cause more harm than good due to dampness, mould and splinters. Fortunately, there are simple, inexpensive ways to create the ideal spaces to support many nesting bee species: 🪵 Drill holes into untreated wood blocks or use clean bamboo canes that are protected from the rain, and smooth off splinters to make your own DIY bee hotel; ☀️ Pick a sunny south or southeast location which helps to keep the nesting bees warm; 🌱 Leave a patch of vegetation-free soil as mining bees will use it to burrow, and mason bees use the mud to create sealed doors over their nest holes; 🔨 Maintain in early spring, replacing old or broken sections after the wetter weather has passed. Want to know more? Take a look at our blog originally written by Andrew William Kirkland in July 2020, reviewed by Buglife for Solitary Bee Week 2026, “How to be the best bee hotel manager”. Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) © Steven Falk Discover how to be a buzz-y landlord Exciting opportunities for the Buglife Community! The Biological Recording Company are offering our buzz-y supporters an incredible 50% discount on their entoLEARN online self-study courses. These pre-recorded webinars and associated content cover a wide range of invertebrate topics, including: Bumblebees of the UK Social Wasps of the UK Damselflies of the UK Dragonflies of the UK Earthworms of the UK & Ireland Freshwater Leeches of the UK Longhorn Beetles of the UK Discover entoLEARN ℹ️ To claim your discount, simply add buglife50 into the coupon box during checkout (you may need to click on 'Have a coupon?' for this box to appear). The coupon is not limited to a single use, so you can use it to get the 50% discount on multiple courses! Browse our Bug Directory Did you know that we have almost 200 invertebrate species profiles on our website, and counting? Let’s meet one of the species that you’ll likely be seeing a lot of at the moment! Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) © Zoe Foster This month we’re meeting the aptly named May Bug. The Common Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) often referred to as the May Bug, but you may also know them as the Spang Beetle, Dumbledory or the Billy Witch, amongst many other names. These beetles are loud and clumsy and can frequently be seen and heard flying into lit windows, lamps or even you! ℹ️ Did you know: They've had a troubled past. During 1320 cockchafers (as a species) were taken to court in Avignon, France, where they were ordered to leave town and relocate to a specially designated area, or be outlawed. All cockchafers who failed to comply were collected and killed! For more information about this clumsy character and its unique flying (or should that be crashing!) style, visit our Bug Directory. Take me to the Bug Directory! Which bug would you like to see added to the directory next, there's plenty to choose from! ICYMI ~ Spring is sprung? Did you catch the first in a series of blogs being written by Buglife Development Officer, Beth, celebrating the seasonality of our gardens? Just in case you did we’re sharing it again, whilst spring is still with us - just! Celebrating the arrival of spring Beth penned “Spring is sprung” looking at what may be happening in your garden at this time of year and what jobs you can do to welcome insects and other wildlife into your green spaces. So, lets join Beth, as she shares lots of great tips and ideas in our recent blog "Spring is sprung”. Read the blog… Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) on Nepeta (Cat Mint) © Claire Pumfrey Upcoming events a person holding up a cell phone displaying the words Bugs Matter Tuesday 2 June ~ Friend, Foe, or Freeloader? The Flower Crab Spider with The Biological Recording Company (online) Wednesday 3 June ~ Introduction to Botany with Kernow Wyls (Par, Cornwall) Thursday 4 June ~ Small Blue Butterfly & Bordered Brown Lacewing talk with Species on the Edge (Montrose, Scotland) Friday 5 June ~ Small Blue Butterfly Survey Day with Species on the Edge (Angus, Scotland) Sunday 7 June ~ Bug Hunt at St Andrew’s Nature Reserve with Kernow Wyls (Par, Cornwall) Tuesday 9 June ~ Bookworms! preschool story time at Canvey Island Library (Canvey, Essex) Wednesday 10 June ~ Discover the Bordered Brown Lacewing and Northern Brown Argus with Species on the Edge (St Cyrus, Scotland) Wednesday 17 June ~ The Bug Bunch! For Home Ed Families (Canvey Wick, Essex) Saturday 20 June ~ Discover the Bordered Brown Lacewing and Northern Brown Argus with Species on the Edge (St Cyrus, Scotland) Tuesday 23 June ~ Bordered Brown Lacewing ID and survey taster with Species on the Edge (Aberdeen, Scotland) Saturday 27 June ~ M.G. Leonard Author Talk & Book Signing as part of Canvey Festival of Insects (Basildon, Essex) Saturday 27 June ~ Canvey Festival of Insects (Canvey Island, Essex) Saturday 27 June ~ Moor Invertebrates Bug Hunt (Bovey Tracey, Devon) Wednesday 1 July ~ The Bug Bunch! For Home Ed Families (Canvey Wick, Essex) a flyer for the Canvey Wick Festival of Insects Please do remember that our website Events Page is being updated all the time so, to keep up to date with both current and future Buglife events, as well as events from partners and supporters, be sure to visit regularly. What’s the buzz? Buglife backed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to give a brighter future for Dartmoor’s threatened invertebrates Moor Invertebrates is an exciting new Buglife project on Dartmoor, made possible thanks to initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery Players, Moor Invertebrates will help to give a brighter future to eight threatened invertebrate species found across Dartmoor National Park. Moor Invertebrates will engage local communities and visitors, inspiring a love of Dartmoor’s special bugs and helping to connect people with the wonderful invertebrates living right on their doorsteps. a close up of a hoverfly on a plant Female Bog Hoverfly (Eristalis cryptarum) © Steven Falk Read the story… For all our latest news please visit our website News Pages. Buglife shop The Buglife Shop is open for all your invertebrate needs, offering more ethical options and ways for you to support bugs. Whether you’re looking for clothing, insurance, home accessories or gifts for a loved one; there’s something for everyone! a packet of native wildflower seeds Nurture the Night Shift Jute Bag Visit Buglife’s shop Adopt a Bug Exciting shop news! In addition to our usual offerings our Spring/Summer Brochure, brought to you in partnership with Red Robin, is here! From stationary to home furnishings, bee hotels to clothing - bring a little cheer to your home and support Buglife in the process! Spring/Summer Brochure Don't forget you can stay up to date with the work of the Buglife team via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube! Thank you for your continued interest in and support of our work; together we can save the small things that run the planet! The Buglife Team Join the Buglife Community Donate Facebook icon Instagram icon LinkedIn icon YouTube icon Website icon Buglife Logo Copyright © 2026 Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications electronically from Buglife. Thank you. 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