Mining Bee

Female Andrena spp. have margins in their face between the eyes & antenna bases that have pale bands of hair. Males do not collect pollen so they are not as hairy as the females & they are often shorter in length. Mining bees are solitary bees. In the spring each female digs her own burrow, a long narrow tunnel with side branches, to rear her young which is provisioned with pollen & nectar. Many Andrena bees are pollinator specialists, only visiting a few plant species & and some species of Andrena only collect from a single plant species. Tilling & plowing can adversely affect mining bees because it can destroy their nests. Also heavy mulch can be a problem because they cannot dig through the mulch to get to the soil. To attract these bees, keep an undisturbed area of light, sandy soil nearby spring pollinating plants. These bees are not aggressive.