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

Formerly known as Hylaeus spilotus Forster, 1871 - see recent name changes. A close relative of Hylaeus dilatatus but readily distinguished in both sexes by the highly polished surface (devoid of fine microreticulation) between the mesontal punctures. There are other distinguishing characters involving the shape and patterning of the antennal scapes in the males.

Previously Hylaeus gibbus (Saunders,1850). This species was considered by Warncke (1970) as being a subspecies of H. confusus but, morphologically, the males of each species are abundantly distinct from each other and most other authors recognise them as separate species. Sometimes both species fly together.

Previously known as Hylaeus annularis (Kirby, 1802) - see recent name changes. British representatives of the subgenus Lambdopsis are restricted to Hylaeus dilatatus and H. annularis (formerly H. spilotus).The females of both differ from other British Hylaeus in the reduced, circular (not wedge-shaped or linear) paraocular markings; the males have greatly dilated, yellow and black-marked, sub-rectangular antennal scapes (… Read more

To add an image to the list of images associated with a species, you need to create content of type image. When logged in select Content > Add content > Image from the admin menu at the top of the page. Fill in the following details:

• Filename- set to the image's file name (this is not used anywhere, but helps to identify which image this piece of content is associated with).
• Image - browse to find the image file to upload. It is suggested that where possible… Read more

Cerceris arenaria and C. rybyensis are the most common and most widely distributed species in their genus in Britain.

Of the three species of Crabro which occur in Britain, C. cribrarius is the largest. Male Crabro can be readily distinguished from other medium-sized British and Irish sphecids by their conspicuous fore-tibial shields.