Solitary_bees

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Solitary Bees Gallery - bees most likely to be seen in British gardens

click on the photos to see larger pictures

The Two most frequently noticed garden solitary bees:

The Tawny Mining Bee and the Red Mason Bee

There are many species of solitary bee that will live in British gardens. On this page are a selection of bees that you are most likely to find. All bees photographed here are from our garden in Shrewsbury, England.
I would like to note my thanks to Steve Falk, Stuart Roberts and Matt Smith for their invaluable help in identifying the bees shown here.

Bees in your lawn? It's probably the Tawny Mining Bee

Mining bee, ground nesting bee, Andrena fulva

Andrena fulva
Every spring these bees turn up in garden lawns, triggering minor hysteria in the populace. Tawny Mining Bees are harmless. The female is one of our most attractive bees, with lovely foxy red coloured hairs clothing its body. Andrena fulva makes its nest in loose soil, often in lawns. It makes a characteristic cone shaped mound of soil. The cones are created with the soil excavated by the bees as they dig out nest cells underground.

Lots of bees in your walls? The Red Mason Bee

Osmia rufa is one of the first bees you can expect to take up residence in a bee post. It is one of our commonest bees.
This is another bee that causes concern each spring. The red Mason bee nests in all kinds of holes or crevices, frequently in numbers, in crumbling masonry. It's very unlikely that the bee causes much, if any damage to buildings, as it only excavates mortar that is already crumbling. The female uses mud to construct her cells, hence the name mortar bee. She has two special horns on her face that she tamps mud with during nest building.

Ground nesting bees
The Hairy Footed Flower Bee

A male Hairy Footed Flower Bee approaching Lungwort flowers, with tongue held out - a distinctive feature.

Anthophora plumipes
The Hairy Footed Flower Bee is one of the earliest bees in the garden. In warm springs it is on the wing in numbers by early April. In the garden it is very fond of Lungwort, Pulmonaria and Comfrey, Symphytum flowers.

The male patrols groups of suitable flowers, darting at other insects that stray into its territory.. As soon as a female arrives, he pounces on her to try to mate. The male often flies with its long tongue held out below it. Look for a brown bee with white markings on its face.

The female is all black, with orange hind legs - the only bee that looks like this. Both are fast fliers, much faster and darting than the similar looking Bumble Bees.

Click on the photo above for more pictures

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Anthophora furcata

This is a far less conspicuous bee than its cousin A. plumipes. Many gardens will harbour it, although it is difficult to spot amongst the many brown Bombus pascuorum bumblebees. A. furcata females have a small red fringe of hairs on their "tail," which you can just about make out if you catch one, or get a very close look. A furcata is fond of flowers of the labiatae (nettle-like) family.

White Faced Bees Hylaeus species
You will need a keen eye to spot this tiny bee. At only around 5mm in length, this is one of our smallest bees. The bright white face shows up well even when seen with the naked eye. Hylaeus frequents open type flowers, such as Saxifrages, Bramble and umbellifers like Cow Parsley. They nest in sandy places or in exposed soil. Hairless Hylaeus carry pollen back to their nests in their crop, rather than on their bodies. There are several species of White faced Bee that will live in British gardens.

White Faced Bee

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Andrena haemorrhoa

Mining bee, ground nesting bee - Andrena haemorrhoa

This little bee is often quite common in gardens that have plenty of bare soil. Andrena species nest underground in loose soil. Andrena haemorrhoa flies in April and May. There are several other ground nesting Andrenas likely to turn up in gardens. They range in size from quite small (about 8mm) to honey bee size.

Colletes species

Colletes bees are like honey bees in appearance. They are usually much smaller than honey bees and have distinctive white bands on their abdomens. The bands are formed by fringes of light coloured hairs. Colletes nest in friable soils. Away from gardens, it can form dense 'village' colonies in places like river banks.

Andrena scotica
This bee is unusual amongst British solitary bees. It nests communally. Many bees might share a single entrance hole, but underground each bee makes and provisions its own nest cells. The bee looks quite like a honey bee, so they are often mistaken for colonies of honey bees. If you see lots of bees coming and going from underground, then it is most likely to be Andrena scotica.

Andrena scotica

Above Ground nesters
The Wool Carder Bee

Anthidium manicatum.
This has to be one of the most exciting bees to watch and enjoy!
The Wool Carder Bee is quite large and is one of the most territorial bees you will find anywhere. To find out more go to our special Wool Carder Bee page,

Blue Mason Bee

Osmia caerulescens.
A smaller relative of the Red Mason Bee. The Blue Mason also nests in cavities. It has a less catholic choice of flowers that it visits for pollen and nectar, preferring tube like plants, such as Snapdragon and Thyme. It is never as common as the Red Mason, but does occur in many gardens. The female is quite distinctive with a shiny, slightly blue body.

Osmia leaiana

This is an uncommon bee in gardens. It is very distinctive with its bright, brick red pollen scopa along the underside of its abdomen. It might be possible to confuse O. leaiana with Leafcutter Bees, Megachile species, which also have brightly coloured pollen scopas on their undersides. However, Osmia does not hold its wings out in the way that Megachile does, giving a clue to its identity.

Leaf Cutter Bees - that nest in holes in the ground and above ground - anywhere there's a hole really!

Megachile species

Leafcutter Bees are well known for their habit of cutting neat, rounded circles out of rose leaves and other plant leaves. They use the leaves to partition cells and seal the entrance to their nests in cavities. Some Leafcutters will nest in the soil, as well as above ground.
They are quite easy to distinguish from other solitary bees, as they hold their wings to the side of their bodies, unlike most bees that hold them tent-like, folded over the abdomen. the photo above shows this characteristic well.

There are some good photos of a leafcutter bee cutting a section of leaf here

Bumblebees are not Solitary Bees. Some solitary bees look a little like the familiar bumblebee. However, bumblebees are social bees, that make nests that contain a queen and worker bees. They are of course equally fascinating and valuable garden bees. For more about bumblebees visit:

www.bumblebee.org
and
Bumble Bee Identification Guide

Bumblebees, Bombus species in the garden

Right, Bumbleebees, Bombus species feeding from Sea Holly in the garden.