The latest Informaiton on Nutrition

Watch out! watch out! there's an Ivy Bee about!

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:19:31 EDT
Feeding on Ivy - look at all that pollen on it’s legs! Look out for it on the ground as well. ... It’s a mining bee so you may see it near to it’s nest on soft (sometimes grassy, sometimes not) banks and cliffs....It’s a relative newcomer to our shores and was first recorded in 2001 at Langton Matravers (12 miles from Corfe Mullen as the crow (or bee) flys). ... As it’s name suggests it forages mainly on Ivy pollen so it isn’t really seen until Ivy comes into flower (usually between mid September and early November)....Around the size of a honeybee (or larger) and the banding on the abdomen of fresh specimens is very orangey coloured (however this does fade on older bees). ... They also carry their pollen all the way down their legs (instead of in pollen sacks). Hairy, stripy and as big as a honeybee!...Second, look for a bee collecting pollen from Ivy flowers in October (the only other insects we saw on the Ivy were wasps, hoverflys and honeybees. It’s fairly large....

Centenarians

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:59:40 EDT
They regularly turn up people who claim to have lived to be 150, and everything from fresh air to bee pollen is adduced as the reason....