Nomada laeta THOMSON 1870
One of the smaller and less frequently encountered Nomada species. Its unusual pattern of creamy-yellow spots on a cherry-red background is distinctive, as is its habit of flying rapidly over the surface of loose sand in July and August. Females can be picked out from the mêlée as they occasionally land, stroke the sand with their antennae and start digging. This activity signals them having found the nest-tracer scent of their host bee Andrena argentata Smith.
Mainly restricted to central southern England, also recorded from East Suffolk and the Channel Islands.
It is widely distributed in northern and central Europe.
This species is listed in Falk (1991) as Nationally Notable/Na (now known as Nationally Scarce).
Closely associated with sandy heathland. Although its host has been found away from heathland, it is never common in such situations and may not be sufficiently so to support a population of the Nomada.
July to August.
A specialist cleptoparasite of the bee Andrena argentata.
Visits a wide variety of flowers.
No data available.
2016