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

During the original IBRA Bumblebee Atlas, I searched old localities for Bombus cullumanus. At the time, we did not know the requirement of many bumblebee species for extensive areas of legume-rich grassland and it seemed possible that these bees might still exist if only one looked hard enough. Unfortunately, the last specimens of rare plants often remain growing in restricted areas long after the insects which used to be associated with them have died out.

More pictures and notes can be found on … Read more

A small Megachile with green eyes in life. Tergite 6 of both sexes is clothed largely with adpressed white hairs and the female’s scopal hairs are also white. These characters readily distinguish this species from other Megachile species in Britain. Formerly known in the British literature by the names Megachile argentata and M. dorsalis.

Formerly Hoplitis spinulosa. The taxonomy of O. spinulosa has been the subject of considerable debate. Recent genetic work carried out in Switzerland by Mueller, shows that this taxon should correctly be placed within the genus Osmia rather than left within Hoplitis

A small elongate bee with distinctive terminal white hair bands on the abdomen; the female with an orange scopa. This species has always been considered scarce and associated with the commons of Surrey. It utilises resin in the making of the partitions of its nest and the assumption that this could only be provided by pines, combined with its apparent restriction to heaths, suggested to some that it must be an introduction to Britain. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when G R Else and I found a large population based at Thorney Island, with not a pine in sight! Not only this, but this… Read more

A small, dark Sphecodes but otherwise rather similar in general appearance to the common S. geoffrellus.

A medium-sized, all black, scantily-haired bee with dirty-yellow scopae on the hind legs of the female. In dull weather males are often found curled up in the flowers of yellow- flowered Asteraceae, especially hawkweeds.They may stay shut inside the closed flower overnight.

Until recently Andrena rosae was described as having a spring and summer brood, these forms being known by the names eximia Smith 1847 and rosae Panzer 1801 respectively. However, recent authors (e.g. Westrich 1989; Schwarz et al. 1996; Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002) have referred to these broods as two distinct species, with the name eximia being treated as a junior synonym of stragulata Illiger 1806. A main reason for this involves the considerable morphological differences in the form of the… Read more