Leijpark013

@leijpark013 · 12 Mar 2022

Follow Following

Leijpark 013 Climb by

Published by Thierry P. Dinjens · Yesterday at 5:59pm ·
Last year, in spring and summer, we were suddenly confronted in the Leijpark with 'people' who felt it necessary to destroy ivy. Stems were cut unceremoniously, resulting in the ivy dying. Voices rose that some people do this because ivy suffocates the trees. In practice, this giant is not easy. Others said this was pure wantfulness of a bunch of young guests who were bored. Anyway: The destruction of the ivy has major adverse consequences for an insect that is relatively new in our country and had never been seen in Brabant a little ten years ago: the Klimopbij.
This rather large bee, almost the size of a honey bee, has larvae that live exclusively on the nectar and the pollen of the ivy. Her abdomen is much more pointed than the back of a honey bee and the Ivy Bee has a woolly breast piece. Because ivy blooms in autumn, sometimes even into the winter, the Klimopbee can be seen very late in the season. Anyone who suddenly sees a bee flying in the fall can now assume that it is most likely a Climopbee.
Destroying the ivy is not the only problem of the Ivy Bee. She has a formidable opponent in an oil beetle. This beetle has found a unique way to survive, at the expense of the Ivy Bee. The female of the beetle lays a number of eggs on a grass pol. The wriggling larvae that come out form a root ball and it begins to produce the smell of female ivy bees. Male bees are going wild and diving on it, assuming that this is a female species. That's the moment the larvae have been waiting for. Through the legs and hairs on the back of the male Klimopbee, they lift along, until the moment when the male pairs with a real female. Then the beetle larvae jump over to the female. That female makes a nest in the ground, lays an egg in it and collects pollen that she lays next to the egg, as a food for her own larva. “Thank you” say at that time the larvae of the oil beetle. They step away from the female, crawl into the hole, eat up the pollen grains and then: the Ivy bijlarva!
The Ivy Bee comes from the southern regions of Europe and has begun its advance to the north, because our winters are getting softer and because ivy grows well and a lot with us. It is expected that, unfortunately for the Klimopbij, the oil beetle will soon follow and will also come to our country and perhaps also to the Leijpark. Henk de Winter snapped the Klimopbij for you while she is feasting on nectar. The adult bees visit all kinds of flowers, but for their larvae they really need to have the pollen of the ivy. It is hoped that we will therefore realize how important the ivy is for insects and not just the Ivy Bee. All insects that are still awake in autumn can go to the ivy. It is the last food for many insects before they die or go overwinter. For the Klimopbij, it is a lifeline that guarantees the survival of its kind. And admittedly: a tree will succumb once under the weight of an ivy grown too large. That's true, you can also just call it nature. Let's let nature take its course without thinking for her. Then we see the most beautiful species come along and if it comes along: stay.

#ivy #leijpark013