One of four brown bumblebees known from the British Isles; two of which, B. muscorum and B. humilis, are declining greatly and were included in research undertaken by the Bumblebee Working Group. The biology of these two species is very similar. Both are associated with extensive areas of tall, but open, flower-rich grasslands, especially those which have many flowers with long corollae, such as clovers, dead-nettles and yellow-rattle. B. muscorum is the more northerly distributed species… Read more
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The inner spur of the hind tibia of the female is diagnostic for this bee in Britain, the teeth being broad and rounded apically, rather than narrow and pointed.
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One of two small Osmia bees frequently occurring in gardens as well as woodland clearings and edges. The males of both O. leaiana and O. caerulescens are extremely hard to distinguish, being about 6mm long, shining metallic green and having bright ginger hairs when fresh. The best character is microscopic: look at the downward-sloping front surface of the first gastral tergite. It is shining in O. caerulescens and matt with reticulation in O. leaiana… Read more
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This is one of the larger Lasioglossum species in Britain, and the distinctive right-angled front corners of the pronotum are easily seen under the microscope.
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One of the socially parasitic bumblebees formerly placed in the genus Psithyrus, which is now regarded as a sub-genus of Bombus. It is known to parasitise the nests of Bombus terrestris. The general distribution is more southerly than that of its look-alike, Bombus bohemicus, which matches the situation in the known hosts of these two species (B. lucorum is the host of B. bohemicus… Read more
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A small mining bee with a largely red gaster in both sexes, very reminiscent of certain bees of the genus Sphecodes (Halictidae). The male has a yellow clypeus and lower paraocular areas.
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Formica fusca is a dark-bodied species, 4-7 mm long, common and widely distributed on uncultivated land. This species is very similar to Formica lemani. Taxonomic and behavioural differences are given in the F. lemani profile.
Editor's note. The original profile combined the two species F. fusca and F. lemani but this has been split by the editor to follow the Atlas style.
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This is one of eleven British ant species in the genus Formica but it is the only one of the sub-genus Raptiformica. This is a predominantly Nearctic group and F. sanguinea is the only species with a Palaearctic distribution. Superficially similar to Wood ants of the Formica rufa-group, F. sanguinea is distinguished by being the only British Formica showing dulotic behaviour. It is commonly known as the blood-red slave-making or robber ant. This reflects its habit of raiding nests of other ants, particularly those in the Formica… Read more