Category: Spring Bees
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Carlin’s/regular mining bee (Andrena carlini/regularis)
Andrenidae > Andrena > Andrena carlini / Andrena regularis It wouldn’t be spring without spotting Carlin’s and Regular mining bees (Andrena carlini / Andrena regularis). Look for a large, fuzzy Andrena that resembles a small bumble bee: black abdomen, tan thorax, and dark sides of the thorax. Both members of this species pair are important…
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Bufflehead mason bee (Osmia bucephala)
Megachilidae > Osmia > Osmia bucephala Bufflehead mason bee (Osmia bucephala) is a hefty backyard Osmia of late spring. It is one of the largest Osmia in the region, often mistaken for a bumble bee worker. This distinctive box-headed black-and-white mason bee is a frequent resident of suburban yards and gardens, where beard-tongue (Penstemon) flowers…
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Horn-faced/Taurus mason bee (Osmia cornifrons/taurus)
Megachilidae > Osmia > Osmia cornifrons / Osmia taurus Horn-faced mason bee (Osmia cornifrons) and Taurus mason bee (Osmia taurus) are two similar nonnative Osmia. Both have spread rapidly throughout eastern North America in recent decades since their introduction as potential fruit tree pollinators in the 1980s. These species have proliferated in human-altered habitats, raising…
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Two-spotted bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus)
Apidae > Bombus > Bombus bimaculatus Two-spotted bumble bees (Bombus bimaculatus) carry spring on their wings. Queens are often among the first bumble bees seen each year, taking advantage of a pulse of forage in the forest canopy and spring ephemerals in the understory. Colonies grow and senesce quickly, producing the earliest reproductive after less…
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Blueberry digger bee (Habropoda laboriosa)
Apidae > Habropoda > Habropoda laboriosa The blueberry digger bee (Habropoda laboriosa) is a common and economically-significant visitor to blueberry throughout the southeast. While its primary natural habitat of pine barrens is threatened by development and fire suppression, H. laboriosa appears to be flexible in its habitat preferences and frequently occurs in suburban and semi-urban…
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Nomada
Nomada are red, black, and yellow wasp-like bees, most of which are cleptoparasites of mining bees Andrena. As cleptoparasites, Nomada are tied to their hosts, and so most species occur in spring when Andrena diversity is at its peak. You are likely to encounter Nomada nectaring on flowers in your garden, hovering in warm, sunny…
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Colletes
Colletes are small to medium-sized bees with strong abdominal banding. They are named for the thin cellophane-like lining that they use to line brood cells. Colletes in our area range from common garden bees to species so rare they are practically unknown to science. All Colletes nest in the ground – a few species form…
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Bradley’s mining bee (Andrena bradleyi)
Andrenidae > Andrena > Andrena bradleyi Bradley’s mining bee (Andrena bradleyi) is a diminutive bee of ericaceous shrublands, pine barrens, and blueberry fields. This common, spring-active species has a conspicuously long face which is useful for accessing nectar from the deep goblet-shaped flowers of their host plants. Phenology One generation per year, active from late-March…
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Spring beauty mining bee (Andrena erigeniae)
Andrenidae > Andrena >Andrena erigeniae True to its name, spring beauty mining bee (Andrena erigeniae) specializes in collecting pollen from the spring ephemeral wildflower spring beauty (Claytonia). Look for distinctive bright-pink Claytonia pollen on the female’s hind legs. This often-abundant species occupies deciduous forests, but also suburban backyards and semi-urban settings when its host plant…
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Dunning’s mining bee (Dunning’s miner bee)
Andrenidae > Andrena > Andrena dunningi Dunning’s mining bee (Andrena dunningi) is fond of lazy gardeners: this spring-active species thrives in sunny, unkempt suburban lawns and gardens full of dandelions. It can be distinguished from most other spring-active Andrena by the combination of orange thorax and entirely black abdomen. Phenology Late-March/early-April through May, with latest…