Returning from a snorkelling session in Portland Harbour I was walking along the beach when I saw what appeared to be a number of Common Wasps buzzing around the base of a flight of steps. I was about to walk right past when I noticed that these wasps were entering burrows in the sand. Not only that but some were excavating new burrows.
This was a new species for me, Bee Wolf. Named after its habit of capturing Honey Bees to feed its young in the burrows, this species arrived from Europe and has spread rapidly in the last twenty years or so.
Next is a slideshow of images of the colony.
A few years ago I found a colony of Ivy Bees, another recent colonist, just along the beach from where the Bee Wolf colony is.
And here is what Common Wasps look like for comparison.