A selection of bees seen on Aylesbeare Common last year.
Bare-saddled Colletes - Colletes similis
Cliff Mining Bee - Andrena thoracia
Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee - Megachile versicolor
Blue Mason Bee - Osmia caerulescens
Gooden's Nomad Bee - Nomada goodeniana
Male Ashy Mining Bee - Andrena Cineraria
Male Grey-patched Mining Bee - Andrena nitida
Gwynne's Mining Bee- Andrena bicolor
Grey-tailed Furrow Bee - Lasioglossum prasinum
Heather Mining Bee - Andrena fuscipes is on the wing to coincide with the flowering of Common Heather or Ling - Calluna vulgaris. I went to search for it on 25th July, a bit early, but that meant there weren't many heather flowers out yet, which narrowed down the search. All I had to do was find a nice patch of open flowers and wait. I saw a handful of females and also a couple of its associated nomad bee, the Black-horned Nomad Bee - Nomada rufipes.
Heather Mining Bee - Andrena fuscipes
Black-horned Nomad Bee - Nomada rufipes
There's a colony of Large Shaggy Bee - Panurgus banksianus in the main car park of Alylesbeare Common which afforded me the opportunity of watching them closely over a couple of days last June. These bees only obtain pollen from yellow Asteraceae, particularly Cat's-ear, hawkbits and hawk's-beards as seen here.
MALES
FEMALES
Mating ball.
