Flies
43 species of fly have become extinct in England in the last 200 years, 10 of which are shown below
Species: Belida angelicae
Extinct: 1936
Species: Clitellaria ephippium
Extinct: 1850
© John Reinecke
© Hectonichus
THE TORMENTIL MINING BEE
Andrena tarsata
A small, elusive, black solitary bee - known as the Tormentil mining bee Andrena tarsata.
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Rarity: This national priority species has been lost from over half of its habitat since the 1970s.
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Causes of decline: Loss of specific microhabitats, through loss of sandy nesting areas and changes in grazing management.
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It has an associated Nomad bee (Nomada roberjeotiana), a kleptoparasite that takes over its host nest killing its eggs; this is even rarer than its host.
Photo: Tormentil mining bee (c) Ian Andrews
Andrena tarsata is a northern European bee, that becomes scarcer further to the south. Stöckhert (1933) describes it as being a boreal-alpine species, which has a range extending from central Fennoscandia south to Spain, and eastwards to the former Czechoslovakia and USSR (GR Else, BWARS website).
It is found across the UK in England, Wales and Scotland, with strongholds in Yorkshire, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.
The Tormentil mining bee is widespread, however the species has been lost from 50% of its former sites since 1970 so its distribution is fragmented and localised (BWARS data).
Parts of the South West and Yorkshire have been identified as strongholds for the species (Buglife 2014). It is nearly always scarce even in these locations, but possibly it is
under-recorded because of its small size.
Tormentil Mining bee surveys and report 2024
A re-survey of the Tormentil mining bee sites in Yorkshire rediscovered the species at three key sites; Allerthorpe Common, Jugger Howe and Pampledale Moor. There were no records of Nomada roberjeotiana although some sites had historic records.
Monitoring has continued at the sites, plus two historic sites where we hope the species will be rediscovered. Numbers are highest at Allerthorpe, where grazing is absent and Tormentil grows in large flowery clumps, but it has much lower numbers at the other sites. Habitat management of flower-rich margin and sandy nesting sites for this species, also benefits many other heathland invertebrate species.
Habitat management advice provided by SRT has seen scrub plus grazing management (Jugger Howe) to prevent loss of flower-rich margins on both Allerthorpe and Jugger Howe, plus ongoing creation of new nesting habitat at Allerthorpe Common. Tormentil mining bees appear to using some of the new nesting habitat at Allerthorpe Common.
In 2025 we will be continuing testing acoustic monitoring and incorporating noise cancelling for this elusive species.
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We are pleased to have Biodiversity UK as our corporate sponsor supporting our work on this species.