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.

A bright brown and yellow cuckoo bee and one of the larger of our Nomada species. In common with its hosts (Andrena of the varians group as well as A. scotica Perkins and A. nitida (Müller)) this is a very widespread and frequently found species, often seen flying over short vegetation and bare ground in sunny places during the spring. Towards the north it appears to be replaced by N. panzeri Lepeletier. Separating males, in particular, of these two species is very difficult, but good characters concerning the standing hairs on the… Read more

Both Nomada fulvicornis and N. marshamella (Kirby) greatly resemble one another in the field, particularly males. However, the females of N. fulvicornis generally have obvious reddish markings on the more basal sternites and similar ones are often (though much reduced) present on some of the tergites. In the males there are no inner orbital yellow or orange bands in N. marshamella; these are present in N. fulvicornis but are frequently reduced to a few small spots. N. fulvicornis has two distinct subspecies in Britain, these expressing… Read more

A very bright, black and yellow cuckoo bee and one of the largest of our Nomada species. In common with its hosts (Andrena species of the nigroaenea-group) this is a very widespread and frequently found species, often seen flying over short vegetation and bare ground in sunny places during the spring and, in smaller numbers, late summer. These later dates support the supposition that its hosts may also have a later flight period than has been previously recognised.

One of the larger-sized, summer-flying Nomada which is marked just in black and yellow, with conspicuous yellow markings on the tegulae and the scutellum. It is one of a small group of Nomada which appear to be virtually hairless (there are very short hairs, but a microscope or hand-lens is needed to appreciate these). In the field the insect often appears to be matt, not shiny. Intriguingly it may sometimes be found where its putative hosts (bees of the genus Melitta) have not been recorded. However, it is not usually abundant wherever it is found.

An identification key is available (Else, 1999). Females from the British mainland have the scopal hairs on sterna 5-6 black. Those from the Isle of Man and from Ireland have them extensively golden red, although the black form has been seen in Ireland too (D B Baker, pers. comm.).

An identification key is available (Else, 1999). Females from the British mainland and the Isle of Man have black scopal hairs on the fifth and sixth sterna, those occurring in Ireland have the sternum with the entire scopa reddish-golden.

One of a suite of eight superficially similar species. All are medium-sized to large solitary bees nesting in holes, largely in various forms of timber either in standing deadwood or fence posts.

A key is available in Perkins (1925). Else & Edwards (in press) will also have a key. Formerly included in Chalicodoma, now treated as a subgenus of Megachile.

Extinct in Britain. A single record from 1847. Else (1999) includes this species in the notes but not the key, although it should be included in his forthcoming monograph. A key is provided in Amiet et al. (2004).