Miner One

Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva)

When it comes to color, few bees can match the all-out wow factor of the female Tawny Mining Bee. The combination of shiny black head and legs, short ginger fur on the thorax and long tawny-gold hairs on the abdomen is a knockout — even if the creature sporting them measures a mere half-inch long. In recent days, I've found a couple of females wandering along on the ground in the garden. According to Bees of Norfolk, this species feeds at a variety of plants, including Alexanders, which we have in abundance both in the wild corners of the garden and in the surrounding countryside. It also likes apple, and both of our apple trees are currently blossoming and full of bees. Like other members of the genus Andrena, this one gets its common name from its habit of making nest holes in the ground. One of the females I photographed had just crawled out of such a hole, which she'd dug between paving slabs just outside the office window. And now, the excitement of our new project: according to the county's bee atlas, this species has never been reported before for our 2km square!