No show for ‘Big Yellow’ bee orchids in drought year

First, the bad news. On my annual visit today (4 June) to Big Yellow Self Storage on Canary Way in central Norwich, the bee orchid count was zero. That’s the first time I’ve found none in 17 years of visits, since I first found a few flowering spikes in 2009.

I wasn’t surprised. Bee orchids are known to respond to weather conditions, and they will have stayed dormant in England’s driest spring for more than 100 years – see Met Office story via this link.

Oxeye daisies outside Big Yellow Self Storage, Norwich. You can come by bus to see them ...

The good news is that, despite the spring drought, the ‘meadow in the city’ continues to provide a visual treat, mostly on account of its oxeye daisies, and a wildlife refuge.

Some of the supporting cast of flowers is shown in this collage of photos.

Collage of flowers from the meadow. Left: a lemon yellow mouse-ear hawkweed. Top: ragged robin and part of a patch of black medick.
Below: scarlet pimpernel, more usually found on disturbed ground, and hedgerow cranesbill (also known as Pyrenean cranebill). This was one of four cranesbill species here; the others were dovesfoot cranesbill, herb robert and round-leaved cranesbill.

Flowers were attracting a good range of insects, including two meadow brown butterflies, which were too quick to photograph. Goldfinches were singing, there were common blue damselflies, despite being some distance from water, and several small beetles and bees. Many of the beetles were probably female thick-legged flower beetles – the females lack the male’s thick legs – an idea supported by an obvious male which I photographed.

Male thick-legged flower beetle on an oxeye daisy.

Common blue damselfly, perching on an adjacent hedge.

A red-tailed bumblebee fed on the flowers of creeping cinquefoil and, especially, black knapweed.

Red-tailed bumblebee on a black knapweed.

I called into see the Big Yellow team, and we agreed not to be discouraged by the lack of orchids in one dry year. The advice here is the same as for anyone with uncut grass: there will always be wildlife benefits of adopting No Mow May, as encouraged by conservation charity Plantlife, and ideally extending that into June.

Sunburst lichen Xanthoria parietina on a birch trunk; a common broomrape, presumably parasitic here on oxeye daisies.

An intriguing bee on an oxeye daisy. Best guess is bare-saddled colletes Colletes similis, from advice from bee recorder Tim Strudwick.

Years will vary, and there is always something of interest to find in a meadow, including in the centre of a city.

 Chris Durdin

 Previously on Big Yellow’s bee orchids (selected):

‘Big Yellow’ bee orchids 2024

Photos on Facebook 2022

Bee orchids bonus in lockdown (2020)

Bee orchids bounce back (2019)

Bee Orchids get my vote (2017)

Big Yellow bee orchids are back (2016)

The Meadow in the City (2015)

‘Big Yellow’ bee orchids 2024