Bee ID

[Butterfly Gardener]

Can anyone help me identify this bee?

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Butterfly Gardener,

Can anyone help me identify this bee?

This is a female of the mining bee Andrena clarkella. The male is far less distinctive. They typically fly from late February or early March onwards and are one of the first species to appear in the spring.

Where and when was it found for data please?

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Butterfly Gardener]

Thanks Mark. I thought it was a mining bee but couldn't find anything that looked right in my collins guide.

It was found at Lawton Heath (not a heath by any stretch of the imagination)

OS grid reference: SJ808565

Date: 11th March 2012