There’s been some good news for bee lovers in County Wexford.
Despite declining numbers over the last few years threatening to harm biodiversity here, a non native species has been discovered in the county.
The Ivy bee was first spotted by local photographer Jim Kenny in the Raven Nature Reserve earlier this month having migrated from the UK.
It is slightly larger than a honeybee, has a ginger thorax and distinct orange/yellow stripes on its abdomen.
Owen Beckett is a researcher with the Biodiversity Data Centre and says it’s a boost that fauna needed here.
“There have plenty of bees that have been declining in Ireland, a third of our bees are threatened with extinction.
“It’s a nice change to find a bee that coming here naturally and hopefully over the next couple of years we’ll expand in numbers too.”
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