The following observation was posted on the BWARS Forum by Nigel Jones on 29 April 2006:
I came across a female A. plumipes today. It flew in to a patch of Pulmonaria flowers, where males have been patrolling for some time. After landing it became very quiet and gripped the flower it landed on with it's mandibles. I was able to pick up the flower and photograph it, fully expecting it to fly off at any time. It… Read more
This very small bee is a close relative of Andrena minutula (Kirby) and can be easily misidentified as such by the novice. The species is bivoltine. Perkins (1914) formerly treated the individuals of these broods as distinct species: Andrena parvuloides (spring) and Andrena minutuloides (summer). Later he relegated the name parvuloides to that of a junior synonym of minutuloides (Perkins, 1919).
A large, robust mining bee, reminiscent of Andrena cineraria in overall appearance but in the female lacking the distinct transverse inter-alar band of that species and the hind tibia is clad with mainly white hairs, not black. The gaster of both sexes has a conspicuous blue cast; wings strongly infuscated.
