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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Last updated on September 21st, 2023 at 12:00 pmThe term mining bee refers to a group of bee species belonging to the genus Andrena. In the UK, there are 67 species of mining bee, including the tawny mining bee, ashy mining bee and Clarke’s mining bee.What Do Mining Bees Look Like?Identifying mining bees away from their nests can be tricky. With dozens of species in the UK alone, there is a considerable variation in appearance between some species. Many mining bees, such as the Tawny Mining bee are brightly coloured and have lots of fuzzy hairs on their bodies. Ashy Mining bees look like small flying pandas with their thick tufts of white-gold hairs and a glossy abdomen that appears blue-black in colour.Other species, like the Early Mining bee, have finer, sparser hairs. Early Mining bees have small tufts of reddish-brown hairs on their thorax and tail, while their abdomen is black with very sparse hairs.Mining bee species with dull colouration and spare hairs are often mistaken for house flies. The easiest way to identify mining bees is by watching them construct their nests since mining bees are ground dwellers.Do Mining Bees Sting?Female mining bees have stingers, but they are rarely aggressive. They are not a swarming species and will only sting if they feel threatened or to defend their nest. Many male mining bees do not have stingers.When Can Mining Bees Be Seen?Mining bees are most active during springtime, but they can be seen from early spring through until late summer. Females begin work on their nest during the spring in preparation for mating and laying eggs. During the summer, they collect pollen which is stored within the chambers of their nest burrow. Male mining bees have a short lifespan. They zigzag from nest to nest, waiting for the females to emerge so they can mate. Most male mining bees only live a few months.From late autumn, most female mining bees will hibernate or go into a state of torpor in their nests with their new brood. Torpor is a state of reduced activity and metabolic rate. Bees may sleep for short periods and wake for a few hours to feed from their pollen stores and check on their brood.How Do Mining Bees Nest?Mining bees are ground nesters, constructing tunnels in soft, sandy soil close to food and pollen sites. Although mining bees are solitary species, there can be hundreds of nests built close together. This is known as an aggregation. Females dig out tunnels which can reach lengths of up to 60cm. The entrance to a mining bee nest is clearly marked by a mound of loose soil with a small hole at the centre.A female mining bee
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