First Place. Bee by Paul Lund. Taken in Paul’s garden using two flash guns to freeze motion.

Pelagic Publishing will be releasing a new guide to Solitary bees by Ted Benton (Naturalists’ Handbooks 33)

The book covers

• Identification key to solitary bee genera
• The biology and ecology of solitary bees
• Practical guidance to watching and studying solitary bees

In Britain and Ireland there are about ten times more species of solitary bee than bumblebee and honeybee combined, yet the solitary bees tend to be ignored and we know much less about them. They are a fascinating, attractive and diverse group that can be found easily in a wide range of habitats, both urban and rural, and they are important as pollinators.

Solitary bees provides an introduction to the natural history, ecology and conservation of solitary bees, together with an easy-to-use key to genera.

Contents:
1 Introduction
2 Diversity and recognition
3 Bee lives
4 Cuckoos in the nest
5 Bees and flowers
6 The conservation of solitary bees
7 Approaches to practical work
8 Keys to the genera of bees of the British Isles
9 References and further reading
Index

Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Solitary bees (Naturalists’ Handbooks 33)