Kaunergrat nature park records 50 wild bee species

Researchers have recorded 50 wild bee species in the Kaunergrat nature park in Tyrol during the first survey of the area’s diversity, ORF reported. The findings include several rare species, including the red snail-shell bee.

The project, titled “Biodiversity hotspot Kaunergrat: Wild bees of the inner-Alpine dry slopes”, began its fieldwork in March, project leader Emilie Matthes said. Researchers visited the area every two weeks and caught bees with a net. The species identifications are now under way, with local wild bee experts expected to help determine some of the more unusual specimens in the coming weeks.

Rare species found in the area include the red snail-shell bee, the black mason bee and the red cinquefoil mining bee, according to Matthes.

The red snail-shell bee is about seven millimetres long and lives exclusively in dry habitats, such as the Fließ sunny slopes. It mainly uses small-flowered labiates, including hedge woundwort, and legume plants as pollen sources. For its nests, it uses empty snail shells.

Matthes said the Fließ sunny slopes provide suitable habitat for wild bees because of their warm, dry climate. The area is also protected. Only a small number of animals graze there, allowing its existing structures to remain intact, she said.

The project aims to raise public awareness of bees and strengthen understanding of their ecological role and need for protection. “If we know which species occur there, we can introduce more precise measures to protect them,” Matthes said.

Austrian experts are currently working on a Red List of wild bees. Austria has around 700 wild bee species, about 400 of which occur in Tyrol.

The project is funded by the IUCN’s Youth Action on Pollinators programme and by grants from the state of Tyrol for research in the nature park.