#mining bees

Barbara's Mining Bee (Andrena barbara)

April 3, 2026

The amount of times I've had to correct observations of solitary bees on inaturalist that were identified as honey bees is insane. Please, double check an ID before you suggest it.

mining bees are known for mostly being present during spring, and the severely dry summers i often complain about only serve to make their strict seasonality even stricter, so this sleepy Andrena schencki on a rainy autumn evening was unexpected. they're certainly easier to photograph when sadly clinging to branches than when they're teleporting from flower to flower, at least

Yellow legged mining bee resting on a crocus, this february, the earliest i've ever had them visit the little ecosystem i've been crafting in front of the house.

(Andrena flavipes, female imago, on Crocus spec.)