THE TAWNY MINING BEE... (ODDLY MENTIONED IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER'S NATURE NOTES TODAY...)

 The Tawny Mining Bee…

Labouring, indecisive,

Almost unwilling

To squeeze legs and wings 

Into the clear, black hole

At the summit of a small pile

Of orange sand.

A result of drilling.

Hovering, insecure,

Almost struggling

To impress, legs and wings

Uncoordinated somehow

Over the summit of its mine,

Through orange sand.

A torso wriggling.

Lying, unmoving,

Almost threatening

To attract, legs and wings

Immobile, yet beautifully amber,

Near the summit of its shaft

And orange sand.

A skeleton, frightening…

Pete Ray

Saw these amazing, busy creatures burrowing into their dry earth shafts on Hodge Hill Common and in my father’s back garden in Shard End, Birmingham. 

One had perished and was skeletal. 

I took it to an expert for identification.

Saw them again in Berkswell, Warwickshire on 15th April 2021… 

Sadly, their habitat is being engulfed there by the construction of HS2...