A member of the Andrena minutula species group, identified mainly in the female by the entire, dense white hair band on the fourth gastral tergite and the dense white lateral bands on the second and third tergites.

A medium-sized, well-haired mining bee, the female of which has a distinctive banded appearance to the gaster, these bands being made up of paler hairs. It has jet-black facial hairs, which set it apart from females of its close relatives, A. denticulata (Kirby), fuscipes (Kirby), simillima Smith and tridentata (Kirby). Males have a thickened ridge behind the eyes and ocelli. As in most other members of this group, males are much less frequently seen than females.

The inclusion of this bee on the British list rests on a female in the F. Smith Collection in the University Museum, Oxford. The only documentation carried on the pin is “16.8.”. According to R.C.L. Perkins (1914) the specimen was probably sent to Smith by J.B. Bridgman of Norwich as the pin, mode of setting and label is similar to that of other Andrena known to have been sent by him to Smith in the period 1875-77. The numerals “16.8” presumably indicates the date. This specimen is not mapped.

This is a very rare, local and little known bee though widely distributed throughout much… Read more

The UK Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS) 

BWARS is a subscription based volunteer recording society, operating under the aegis of the UK Biological Records Centre (BRC). The Society is affiliated to the British Entomological and Natural History Society (BENHS).

The Society aims to promote the recording of aculeate Hymenoptera in Great Britain and Ireland, and to foster links with similar societies and interested individuals throughout Europe.

There are about… Read more

A distinctive, medium-sized Andrena, the female having a coat of golden hairs on the last two tergites. It shares this feature with the slightly smaller A. fulvago (Christ), but has dark hind tibiae, rather than pale ones. The male is one of the small group which have bright yellow markings on the clypeus. This species may be quite plentiful where it occurs, usually, but not exclusively, on sandy soils, but is decidedly local.

This small bee exhibits seasonal dimorphism. Following a review of the British Micrandrena, Perkins (1914) considered that individuals of the spring generation were a distinct species, Andrena parvula (Kirby). He knew the summer generation as Andrena minutula (Kirby). The differences between the broods were based on very subtle differences in surface microsculpture and punctation. The name parvula was later demoted to that of a junior synonym of minutula (Perkins, 1919). This is a very common species but is easily overlooked and sometimes… Read more

This medium-sized Andrena is very similar to the common A. dorsata (Kirby), but has only been recorded three times in Britain, between 1931 and 1951. Records come from Berkshire and Dorset. Despite examining many A. dorsata over forty years the author has not managed to add anything to these records, although he suspects it was this species he filmed visiting oil-seed rape in Hungary during 2012.

More pictures and notes can be found on Steven Falk's Flickr site.

The females of this medium-sized Andrena are quite distinctive, with the gaster having a terminal covering of bright golden-yellow hairs, a feature they share with only a few other British species. The males, on the other hand are, like most male Andrena, quite unremarkable, looking at first glance like those of
A. chrysosceles (Kirby), but readily told apart by the lack of yellow facial markings and the fact that they fly rather later in the year.

This large Andrena is one of a group of three (A. helvola, A. fucata Smith and A. synadelpha Perkins) which are quite similar in appearance, phenology and habitat preferences (all found most often associated with clearings in deciduous woodland during May and June). The males are often seen visiting the flowers of wood spurge, the females at those of hawthorn and field maple. Females of all species have gasters which sport bands of brown pubescence, differing mostly in the density of the hairs.