The National Biodiversity Centre have announced that over 30 insect species have been found in Ireland for the very first time, to add to the 11,000 different species that are known. Some of these have probably been here for a long time, but others have only arrived recently and have begun to spread.
With a warming climate and an ever-changing landscape, new insects from elsewhere in the world are also arriving in Ireland and many of these are beginning to colonise. Many of these new discoveries have been made by the fantastic Citizen Science network.
Among them are the Ivy Bee, which was spotted by Jim Kenny who noticed nesting holes in the sand and several thousand bees during a visit to The Raven Nature Reserve, Co. Wexford. It is similar in size to the Honey Bee, but it has bold orange stripes on its abdomen and denser, orange-coloured hair.
The Bordered Tortoise Beetle (Cassida vittata) was spotted by Brian Power and Jessica Hamilton in county Kerry and gets its name from its round, flattened body shape and rather slow movements.
The Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria) was spotted by Killian Mullarney and David McAdams in county Wexford while they were birdwatching. Killian posted his photos to the ‘Insects/Invertebrates of Ireland’ Facebook group, where its identity was confirmed as a Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria).
Unlike its European namesake, it cannot sting but mimics the hornet to avoid being eaten. It lacks the distinctive ‘wasp waist’ (like most of us after Christmas!), has much shorter antennae, and it only has two wings, rather than four.
