Andrena bicolor? (Cambs. UK) (1 Viewer)

[DoghouseRiley]

Hi All

In the process of moving and my bee book is boxed-up............. somewhere.

From digging around the best I can come up with is a female Andrena bicolor.
Can someone please confirm or put me straight?

Thanks, Gareth

 

[aeshna5]

Don't think so. A. bicolor should have dark hairs on the face. I'm very much a novice with these but wondered about A. barbilabris, but could easily be wrong.

 

[DoghouseRiley]

Don't think so. A. bicolor should have dark hairs on the face. I'm very much a novice with these but wondered about A. barbilabris, but could easily be wrong.

As always aeshna5 you are spot on. Looking at Steven Falk's galleries, he describes it and states "The small-headed build and particularly oval abdomen give it a strong field jizz". And that is spot on. The thing that came across when I watched it was how small the head looked in relation to the body.
In addition, it was found along a roadside (private Anglian Water road) near a number of gravel pits. A typical habitat for this species apparently.
Thanks, Gareth