Saving the small things that run the planet
Hawk’s-beard Mining Bee
Fast Facts
Latin name: Andrena fulvago
Notable feature: Orange-tipped abdomen and bright orange hairs over their hind legs.
Conservation Status: Data Deficient
Where in the UK: South/Central England as well as South East Wales. Not known from Scotland or Ireland.
Hawk's-beard Mining Bee (Andrena fulvago) © David Paterson (iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0)
Female Hawk’s-beard Mining Bees (Andrena fulvago) are medium sized and shiny with an orange tip to her abdomen as well as her hind legs. Males look like smaller, slimmer females. They can be found on open grasslands.
- Size: 11mm
- Life span: 2.5 months
- Diet: Flowers visited include ragworts, thistles, brambles, heathers, thistles and scabiouses
- Reproduction: This bee is a kleptoparasite, the female lays her eggs in the nests of other bees, specifically Melitta species (blunthorn bees). Her eggs will hatch and then eat the pollen collected by the Melitta bee, as well as the Melitta bee’s young.
- When to see: Late June to mid-September.
- Population Trend: Declining generally.
- Threats: The decline of its host genus, Melitta.
- Interesting Fact: These bees look like wasps, but like all bees they have branched hairs which have evolved to collect pollen. Wasps have straight hairs as they are less closely evolved with flowers.
Buglife is helping the recovery of populations of Hawk’s-beard Mining Bees and other wildlife via our projects and campaigns, including Kernow Wyls – People for Pollinators, Solitary Bee Week and B-Lines, but we need your help!
Buglife B-Lines are an imaginative and beautiful solution to the problem of the loss of flowers and pollinators. B-Lines are a series of ‘insect pathways’ running through our countryside and towns, along which we are restoring and creating a series of wildflower-rich habitat stepping stones. Linking existing wildlife areas together, creating a network, like a railway, that will weave across the UK landscape. More information about B-Lines and how you can help pollinators can be found here.
Join a recording scheme and log your finds – send any records/sightings to BWARS or download the iRecord app and get recording!
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