"Crazy Beach Bees"
Reader Discretion Advisory: If you don’t like bugs, this post may not BEE for you!
Imagine my surprise when by chance I was out birding on Cove Pond and there was some serious buzz around me. Certainly not enough to be epic like an action movie, but definitely enough to make me take notice.
I was close to a plant covered with an amazing number of bee-like creatures, and they were not at all happy with me. Clearly nothing new for me, but there you have it.
On closer inspection, these amazing creatures had somewhat yellow faces with orange and black bodies and black wings. They were happily attacking the low lying grasses and plants. I observed them for a while and once they decided I wasn’t a threat, they settled back on the the plants. This allowed me to get some close up shots for later identification. Once again, hats off to my amazing camera with the long telephoto lens.
Look at those adorable faces. No? (Insert pondering emoji here)
Internet research brought up the Yellow-faced Bee, but the body of that species was black with no trace of orange. A review of The Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin by Mark Yokoyama, led me to what they call the Crazy Beach Bee. There seems to be no other reference to that common name in the literature.
Returning to the internet for a more complete picture of the species Centris decolorata, I found that they are part of the family Apidae which includes Bumble Bees, Honey Bees and Stingless Bees. The stingless part was a major relief. Perhaps they were more afraid of me, than I of them.
It seems that this is the Caribbean’s answer to the Bumble Bee. Upon further research I found that Bumble Bees are not found in the Caribbean. Perhaps you are like me, and never gave that much thought. I am more familiar with the much larger Carpenter Bee that is present throughout the year and is a major pollinator species.
In addition to pollen, these bees collect oils from plants. They also tend to burrow into the ground or sand. They are harmless and are one of our major pollinator species.
It was curious to watch their interactions with each other on the plants. Not to anthropomorphize too much, but there seemed to be a lot of - “this is my leaf - I was here first” - going on between them. Their long fuzzy legs are very useful for displacing others of their kind.
It seems you need to look at their abdomens to tell male from female. So let’s just say that will remain a mystery for now. I am going to assume mostly males were present.
Bees are critical to human existence and are threatened world-wide for a variety of reasons (Cue up Human emoji).
It is always exciting to see species diversity on Anguilla and expand our knowledge base.
My birding morning was cut short by rain showers that produced this amazing rainbow. Just another Anguilla gift on a very special morning!
What other interesting species have you seen while birding? I would love to hear from you.
To see a short clip of the “Crazy Beach Bees” in action, check out our companion reel: