You can easily overlook them, but the sand bees are literally getting in our way these days. If you look closely, you will see very small piles of sand between the stones in many places. They are often not from ants, but from bees! Nature reporter Stephan Roest filmed a short nature film of a sand bee at work in our own parking lot.
The Netherlands has more than 350 species of bees. Most of our bees do not all live in one big nest, like the honeybee, but alone. They are solitary, as they say. Those animals find a hole somewhere, lay one egg in it and add a ball of pollen to it. Then they close the hole and look for a new nesting place. Some do this in a tree hollow, others under a clump of grass or in an abandoned mouse hole.
Sand bees look for a piece of ground and dig a hole for one egg or a corridor for several eggs. The sun has to keep the egg warm and that is why you often find them on south-facing slopes or between stones. They warm up nicely in the sun and retain that heat even when it cools down in the evening.
Strange food
In the video we presumably see an early sand bee at work between the paving stones right in front of our own entrance. After the work is done, the animal has some trouble getting into the air, but eventually she flies away.
Wild bees are not doing so well. If you want to do something for them, it’s best to leave weeds alone. The bees are used to these native plants. They provide the food the bees need at just the right time. Garden center plants often come from faraway regions and are slightly different. Strange food is sometimes just as bad for the bees as the strange snacks abroad that gave you stomach ulcers.
So: clean up and sweep less and leave weeds here and there. Thanks on behalf of the bees. And also on behalf of the butterflies!