A rare cleptoparasitic bee which can sometimes be reared in small numbers from the stem-nests of its host, the megachiline bee Hoplitis claviventris.

Since recording began this has always been considered a rare cleptoparasitic bee, but during this century it has decreased alarmingly.

A few British bees, all megachilines, habitually nest in empty snail shells; one of these is O. aurulenta (the others being O. bicolor and O. spinulosa)

The males of this species are among the first of the solitary bees to appear in the spring, with one exceptional record as early as late February. They are shortly followed by the distinctive females.

Previously Osmia rufa (Panzer,1806). This species has gained a notorious reputation from the females' habit of excavating their nesting burrows and cells in crumbling or soft mortar joints, thereby, in time, undermining and possibly weakening the fabric of masonry. The bee also utilises existing holes. It is colloquially known as the red mortar bee or red mason bee.

Until recently this species was known as Psithyrus rupestris but Psithyrus has now been reduced to a subgenus within Bombus. This is a large cuckoo-bee which is a social parasite on the common and widespread red-tailed bumble bee, Bombus lapidarius. Both species are all black with a red tail, but the female parasite has darker wings. Identification keys and general biology are found in Sladen (1912), Free & Butler (1959), Alford (1975) and Prŷs-Jones & Corbet (1991).

A large bumblebee with a very long tongue, which is often held outstretched as the bee approaches a flower. It is one of the three species found visiting very deep blooms such as foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)(the others being B. pascuorum and B. hortorum). Separating B. ruderatus and its close relative B. hortorum is very difficult, resulting in many problems in establishing the range of the latter species. There is… Read more

If the story of B. cullumanus is one of decline and gloom, that of B. hypnorum reminds us that changes are not necessarily all one way. This small bumblebee, looking rather like a white-tailed B. pascuorum although actually a member of the B. pratorum-group (Pyrobombus), has been steadily increasing its range throughout Europe. That it should be able to expand, in the face of declines of many other… Read more

A large bumblebee with a very long tongue, which is often held outstretched as the bee approaches a flower. It is one of three species found visiting very deep blooms such as foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) (the other bees being B. pascuorum and B. ruderatus). Separating B. hortorum from its close relative B. ruderatus is very difficult and has resulted in considerable problems in establishing the range of the latter… Read more