This species is the commoner of the two formerly known as A. pilipes or A. carbonaria. It has a double flight period, unlike its close relative A. nigrospina Thomson. Modern records of A. pilipes sens. str. are mostly coastal, where it can be quite frequent and certainly very obvious. Why this should be is not clear as it visits a wide range of plants for their flowers.

A fairly large Andrena, comparable in size with A. scotica Perkins, but patterned more like A. fulvago (Christ) with darker wings. It has only been recorded in Britain on a few occasions: by F Smith in the middle of the nineteenth century, and subsequently with a number of records in the early 1900s and again in the 1930s. All these records relate to that part of Kent north of Maidstone, so it may well have been a species with several short-lived invasions, but which failed to become more widely established.

One of the smaller Andrena species, similar in size to the widespread A. bicolor Fabricius. It is unusual in being a northern species, and probably because of this its biology is rather poorly known, historically there being fewer people interested in aculeates in the northern parts of these islands.

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.

This species is the rarer of the two formerly known as A. pilipes or A. carbonaria. It has a single flight period which occurs in May and June between the two broods of A. pilipes sens. str. Andrena nigrospina has shown a very marked decline in distribution since the mid 20th century, although quantifying this is very difficult as many of the records do not now have specimens to back them up and so cannot be re-examined. Examination of male genitalia is necessary for determination, and specimens flying in June are thought most likely to be this species… Read more

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.

One of the larger Andrena species, with a generally dark brown abdomen and contrasting orange hairs on the hind legs and thorax. This species is one of the first to emerge in the spring, males often flying rapidly over areas of bare ground or sitting on dandelion flowers. Since the mid-1990s however, an increasing number of confirmed records of freshly emerged specimens in July point to the presence of a partial (at least) second generation. Whether this has become possible with the increase in duration of higher temperatures for a longer period in our summer is a moot point.… Read more

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.