Spring Species Now Appearing.

Now that the temperatures are slowly on the way up and there is at last more in the way of sunshine an increasing number of springtime bees are to be seen in the garden.Yesterday this female Yellow-legged Mining Bee,Andrena flavipes, found a sunny spot on a bamboo leaf.This is a common solitary bee here at this time of year and is restricted to the south of Britain.
Also on show was a male Andrena bee of a species that I was unable to identify.

A male Andrena,species not known

Nomada goodeniana.

On a sunny patch of bare ground  at the foot of a conifer in my local forest I found several nomad bees busily searching for solitary bee holes in which to lay their eggs.The nomad bee pictured below had just reappeared from under a pine cone where no doubt one such nest was located.This species of nomad bee is Nomada goodeniana seen mainly from April to June.It is a widespread cuckoo bee in the UK and preys on nests of the Andrena nigroaenea- group.It is one of the largest of our Nomada species.

Andrena on Spanish Bluebells.

Nectar and pollen may be a bit scarce at this time for spring bees and insects,so a drift of bluebells was a must for this male Andrena solitary bee.

Bombylius discolor.

Of course not a bee, but the Dotted Bee-fly Bombylius discolor has a life cycle that is intertwined with that of  the solitary bee.As with the more common Dark-edged  Bee-fly the female scatters her eggs close to the nesting hole of  the solitary bee.The larvae then find their way into the bees burrow where they will develop and finally take to the wing.It is unclear which particular species of bee is used but most probably one of the Andrena species such as Andrena falvipes.

The Dotted Bee-fly has a  very limited distribution in the UK and the Isle of Wight is a stronghold for this species which is classified as Nationally Scarce in Great Britain.