As soon as the weather starts to warm up in spring, bees start to emerge from their nests. 

These include the mining bees that mostly dig burrows in the ground. Unlike Honeybees, they don’t live in colonies. Each female makes its own burrow where they lay their eggs with a supply of pollen to feed the growing bees. The young bees will stay underground until they emerge the following year.  Male bees only have short adult lives as they die soon after mating. Female mining bees live longer spending up to three months as adults.

These are fascinating creatures to look out for in spring. We have found mining bees Birmingham Museums sites including Aston Hall, Sarehole Mill and Blaksesley Hall but they are also common in gardens, parks and other green spaces throughout the West Midlands. 

These are some of the most recognisable species to look out for:

Ashy Mining Bees (Andrena cineraria)

These black and grey bees can nest in large groups with sometimes several hundred nests grouped together. They can be seen from March until May.

Tawny Mining Bees (Andrena fulva)

The fluffy red females are easy to recognise. They emerge at the beginning of April and can be seen until June. Their nests often have piles of soil surrounding the entrances, making them look like tiny volcanoes.

Hairy Footed flower bees (Anthophora plumipes)

These are one of the first bees to emerge in spring and can be seen until the end of May. The males appear before the females and can be seen patrolling patches of flowers, waiting for females. Only the males have the distinctive hairy front legs that give this species their English name.

Bee parasites

If you find mining bee nests, there’s a good chance you will also see some of the species that are nest parasites of bees. These lay their eggs in the nests of bees and their young will eat the stored food and kill the developing bee larva.

Cuckoo Bees (Nomada marshamella)

There are 36 species of cuckoo bees belong to the genus Nomada in Britian. Each one lays its eggs in the nests of a different range of bees. They look very wasp like, often with black and yellow striped bodies. They are often seen flying near the nests of mining bees, waiting for an opportunity to sneak inside and lay their eggs.

Bee Flies (Bombylius major)

Bee Flies use their long tongues to feed on nectar deep inside flowers. They are excellent fliers and are able to hover over flowers. Females can be seen landing on patches of soil to gather sand to mix with their eggs. They then flick this mixture near the entrance of mining bee nests.

If you do find any of these bees or their parasites, it’s worth recording your finds as this can help scientists studying where these species live and how things like the changing climate are affecting bees. The best way to do this is to use the iNaturalist app or website: https://uk.inaturalist.org/

by Lukas Large,
Curator (Natural Sciences)