Beechape Xylocopa Valga for the first time in Belgium

Because the bee species has not yet been spotted in Flanders, there is not yet a Dutch -speaking name for it. Natuurpunt does the ‘Krombeenhout Bij’ as a suggestion. « It is a suggestion, so the name may not be officially used yet, » warns Natuurpunt. « Because the one is not yet seen in the north of the country or in the Netherlands, there is no official name. »

On April 5, a nature lover saw a male copy of the bee species on the facade of his house in Hamois. Six days later, five peers were spotted in the Gaumestreek by Natagora insectologists, the Walloon counterpart of Natuurpunt. According to the Nature Conservation Association, the find points to a small population of the species in southern Wallonia.

The bee species originally only occurred in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, but it is increasingly exploring areas. In the meantime, the bee also appears in East Germany, Alsace and in Luxembourg. According to Natagora, the side of climate warming is moving northwards. The bee species is between two and three centimeters in size and has blue, metallic accents.

« The arrival of the species probably has no negative influence on the wild bee species that already occur in Belgium, » said Natura’s insectologists. « The species has its own ecological niche and will therefore pollinate other plant and flower species. So there is no real risk of competition. »