Rare sea aster mining bee discovered in Somerset saltmarsh

A rare bee has been spotted in Somerset for the first time, far from its usual home on England's south-east coast. Naturalist Nigel Phillips found several sea aster mining bees at Steart Marshes, a nature reserve run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. The bees, which have black and yellow stripes, normally live near the Thames estuary. They feed only on sea aster flowers, which grow on coastal marshes in autumn. Phillips found multiple nests in dry sandy ground at the site. Experts believe that restoration work at the reserve has created the right conditions for the bees to move in. Of around 290 invertebrate species that live in UK saltmarshes, nearly half are found nowhere else.