Mining Bees
This composite shows mining bees emerging from a domestic lawn in Crowborough . Mining bees usually nest in the ground and at first the entrances to their burrows can look like worm casts. On closer inspection the burrows can be seen to be marked by little mounds of earth. They are good pollinators and harmless.
They are much smaller than honey bees and their burrows can be 60 cm deep. A clump of pollen is accumulated in the burrow and the female will then lay her egg on the clump. The bees hibernate over winter in the burrows and emerge in spring as these ones in my daughter's garden have. There are around 100 different species in the UK but I'm not clever enough to identify which these particular bees are.
More detail viewed large.
Mining Bees
This composite shows mining bees emerging from a domestic lawn in Crowborough . Mining bees usually nest in the ground and at first the entrances to their burrows can look like worm casts. On closer inspection the burrows can be seen to be marked by little mounds of earth. They are good pollinators and harmless.
They are much smaller than honey bees and their burrows can be 60 cm deep. A clump of pollen is accumulated in the burrow and the female will then lay her egg on the clump. The bees hibernate over winter in the burrows and emerge in spring as these ones in my daughter's garden have. There are around 100 different species in the UK but I'm not clever enough to identify which these particular bees are.
More detail viewed large.