PICTURES: Exciting discover at RSPB Lakenheath Fen

In his latest blog, communications officer David White reveals how a rare find completes a story that goes back 400 years.

An exciting discovery was made on the reserve last week.

Botany Bay, at the west end of the reserve, has been home to a rare species of solitary bee for several years. Its given name is Macropis europeaea, or the slightly more user friendly moniker of the yellow-loosestrife bee. As its name suggests, it is closely associated to yellow loosestrife, which can be seen in our slideshow, in an image by Katherine Puttick.

The yellow-loosestrife bee is restricted to southern Britain, so we are very lucky that this species of solitary bee calls the reserve home.

The exciting discovery that I mentioned above was that at the beginning of last week, Katherine, our warden, photographed a yellow-loosestrife bee less than half a mile away from the visitor centre – you can see the image in our slideshow.

Read more and see photos: 

Watch out for this rare wasp spider at the RSPB Lakenheath Fen nature reserve

WARDENS at a nature reserve were buzzing with excitement at the sighting of a rare kind of spider.

Katherine Puttick, a warden at RSPB Lakenheath Fen was delighted when she spotted a Wasp Spider earlier this month, which has never been seen before at the reserve.

She said: “I found it. Apart from it being a really striking spider, it was a first for the reserve, which made finding it even more exciting.”

The rare spider is named after the distinctive yellow and black stripes on its abdomen.

It is native to parts of central Europe, north Africa and parts of Asia but the arachnids have begun to appear in the UK during the last 10 years. While they can bite, they are not poisonous to humans.

Staff found the spider on a section of the reserve’s land located neat the border with Norfolk.

This section of the reserve is not open to the public, but it is hoped the spiders may have crossed over into the public section of the reserve.

Katherine said wardens and volunteers are keeping their eyes peeled for more of the insects and asking visitors to join them.

She said her eagle-eyed glimpse of the wasp spider was a case of luck.

Katherin added: “As with many wildlife sightings, it was a very good case of being in the right place at the right time.”

RSPB Lakenheath Fen is located between Hockwold and Lakenheath villages.

For more information on the nature reserve please go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/lakenheathfen, send an to email lakenheath@rspb.org.uk or call (01842) 863400.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Newmarket/Watch-out-for-this-rare-wasp-spider-at-the-RSPB-Lakenheath-Fen-nature-reserve-20130917060048.htm