Mating ball

I saw several Clouded Yellows on the Downs this morning but a stiff north-easterly breeze meant they weren't settling at all and I couldn't get a photograph. So instead here is an Ivy Mining bee (colletes hederae) mating ball. This bee was first recorded in 2001 in Dorset and has since spread across southern England. Its a solitary bee that digs its nest in thin chalky soils. Their emergence in August and September coincides with the flowering of the ivy which they feed on. Although they are solitary their nest chambers can be close together and the numbers of bees can be enormous. Along the side of this chalk path there must have been many hundreds of bees within a few metres, it is such an impressive sight. Most of these bees are males and they stick close to the ground, waiting for females to emerge from their burrows. When they do appear these so-called 'mating balls' form as the males compete over the females. I appreciate that its not the sharpest image but these things are fleeting and I didn't have time to check my settings, besides which, I was completely surrounded by bees.