Country diary: A solitary bee thrives amid the wet | Kate Blincoe

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: They like crevices in old brickwork, which is harder to come by these days, so my father has drilled holes and inserted canes to helpThe swallows flit in and out of the stable, greeted by a chorus from their open-mouthed chicks. The farrier is here applying a hot shoe to a hoof, and the air fills with a cloud of smoke.Then, beside me, a bee emerges from the brickwork. The weather has been distinctly bee-unfriendly of late, as the rain continues to fall, but this one is a fine specimen: fluffy, ginger, with big black eyes and long antennae protruding above. I'm face to face with a solitary bee, one of the 250 species found in the UK. Solitary bees live up to their name - they don't nest in colonies, although often good nesting conditions can attract many individuals to the same area. Continue reading...