Tawny Mining Bee(f) - Andrena Fulva 2b - Returning to nest
Do not worry if you have tiny volcano-shaped bees nests in the lawn about now. Tawny Mining Bees nest individually and are harmless. They are useful spring pollinators of fruit trees and bushes. The female digs a nest and lays eggs in cells that she has already filled with a food supply of pollen and nectar for the hatching larvae to feed on. The larvae that hatch remain underground and pupate later in the spring. The bees hybernate underground through the summer, autumn and winter to emerge from the ground as adults the following spring, ready to help next year's fruit crop set. Males are the first to emerge. Once the females have arrived, the males mate and then die.
This nest appeared on 27th March 2011 in a Winchester garden lawn along with half a dozen others. Photos on 28th March2011.
OS Grid Ref: SU4627 Note - Latitude and Longitude not exact - I have shown it in the middle of the housing estate to avoid giving exact address.
Tawny Mining Bee(f) - Andrena Fulva 2b - Returning to nest
Do not worry if you have tiny volcano-shaped bees nests in the lawn about now. Tawny Mining Bees nest individually and are harmless. They are useful spring pollinators of fruit trees and bushes. The female digs a nest and lays eggs in cells that she has already filled with a food supply of pollen and nectar for the hatching larvae to feed on. The larvae that hatch remain underground and pupate later in the spring. The bees hybernate underground through the summer, autumn and winter to emerge from the ground as adults the following spring, ready to help next year's fruit crop set. Males are the first to emerge. Once the females have arrived, the males mate and then die.
This nest appeared on 27th March 2011 in a Winchester garden lawn along with half a dozen others. Photos on 28th March2011.
OS Grid Ref: SU4627 Note - Latitude and Longitude not exact - I have shown it in the middle of the housing estate to avoid giving exact address.