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European wood carder bee

Anthidium manicatum

Photo by Elsa
Published on Project Noah
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40.7272, 8.55847

Field Notes

Description:

European wood carver bees are leaf-cutters, using leafs and petals to construct their nests. They exhibit similar hovering behaviour to that of hoverflies (which is why I mistook them for being exactly that!).
These bees are black and yellow with unmistakably furry legs and abdomens.

Habitat:

Gardens, fields and meadows. Prefer blue flowers.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (16)
Sa
Yes it is, sardinia is such a beautiful place, wild and nature is home here! I'm glad you visited, at the beginning thought you were sardinian but then I saw you're not :-)
Elsa
Thank you very much Sa C. I think Sardinia is an absolutely amazing place, you're lucky to live there!
Sa
Elsa this is amazing..you took that pic in our beautiful region, we are not that far..I'll check out your page to see more if you add
Elsa
Updated :) Thanks for the compliment ShraddhaGaikwad!
Elsa
Yep, nailed it!! Thanks alot! Will update accordingly. Appreciate the good work!
monkey-mind and nana-puppet
I vote for some kind of wasp. It doesn´t look too hoverflylike to me - the thorax markings, the head and the shape of eyes would suggest a wasp... I´ll do some digging! :))
Elsa
Thanks Wonju.brian - I googled that one and it's a good suggestion however the eyes are dissimilar and the one in these pictures seems hairier and chunkier. What do you think?
wonju.brian
It isn't a hoverfly. Looks like vespula germanica?
Elsa
I'm having trouble identifying this one as I can't decide whether it is a wasp or a hoverfly. The behaviour was unmistakably hoverfly-like (hovering) but the face and eyes were wasp-like. Any thoughts?
Elsa
Thank you Marta! I still need to get you the ID guide, I'll try to find when home from vacation :) hope you're having a nice summer!
Elsa
Thank you HemantKumar, you have some pretty amazing shots I must say! I added a third one which didn't upload properly in the first round :)
HemantKumar
brilliant capture both are master piece well done

Spotted for Missions

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Great Pollinator Project of NYC
Mission
2011 Best Wildlife Photo
Photographed
PublishedJuly 8, 2011

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