Heather Mining Bee - Andrena fuscipes, Aylesbeare Common

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

Large Shaggy Bee - Panurgus banksianus, Aylesbeare Common

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.
 

Sainfoin Bee - Melitta dimidiata, Salisbury Plain

The Sainfoin Bee - Melitta dimidiata is a rare bee found only on Salisbury Plain where it collects pollen exclusively from wild Sainfoin - Onobrychis viciifolia. I visited mid June and saw lots of males but only a single female as it was still a bit early for them. 

 

Habitat of Sainfoin Bee at Tilshead

 MALES 

FEMALE

 

OTHER BEES AND INVERTS

Male Sainfoin Bee and Red-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius

Common Carder Bee - Bombus pascuorum & Burnet Companion Moth - Euclidia glyphica

Spined Mason Bee - Osmia spinulosa

Male Buffish Mining Bee - Andrena nigroaenea 

Male Yellow-legged Mining Bee - Andrena flavipes

Slender-footed Robberfly - Leptarthrus brevirostris
 

Green Hairstreak caterpillar - Callophrys rubi