Rare bee species rediscovered in Carlow after 50 years

A local bee enthusiast has said he was “delighted” to record the sighting of a bee in Carlow which hasn’t been seen in Ireland for almost 50 years.

Owen Beckett, who is a Research Officer at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, discovered the “Perkins Mining Bee” near St Mullins in Carlow on Thursday.

There has been no recorded sightings of the bee in Ireland since 1977.

Speaking to KCLR, Owen said that the destinct look of the bee made him certain that he had indeed made the discovery.

“Ireland has about 100 species of bees. This is the only one with a red band on its body. It’s pretty distinctive and it sticks out so as soon as I saw it I knew exactly what it was.”