Ginger bee! by darrenboyj

Ginger bee!

Found this chap on the inside of the front door and loved his hairy ginger back! Found out he is a Tawny mining bee :)


The tawny mining bee, Andrena fulva, is a European species of the sand bee (Andrena) genus. The males are 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) and the females 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. It is covered with hair: fox-red on its back and black on its underside.

The tawny mining bee lives in Central Europe, ranging from the Balkans to southern Scandinavia. It lives in light woodlands and dry grasslands, and also in parks and gardens. It is widely distributed but has a low population density. The Tawny mining bee flies from March until May. It prefers to fly in a multitude to different nectar-bearing plants. It lives in a nest in the ground, and occasionally in larger colonies.

It mates in spring, after which the male dies and the female starts to build a nest. Sometimes more than a hundred females build nests in a few square metres but the tawny mining bee normally does not create a colony: each female has her own nest. The tawny mining bee is therefore classified amongst solitary and communal bees.

The nest is a vertical shaft 200–300 mm (8–12 in), with several brood cells branching off it. The female fills these cells with a mixture of nectar and pollen, on which she lays one egg in each cell. The larva hatches within a few days, grows quickly and pupates within a few weeks. The adults emerge in spring after hibernation.
Fabulous shot, amazing looking bee and thanks for the info.
May 12th, 2013  
Wow that's a beautiful colour bee
May 12th, 2013  
Not seen one of those before -- nice shot :)
May 12th, 2013  
Wow. What a brightly coloured bee. He's very cute. Great shot.
May 12th, 2013  
wonderful colours, never seen this kind of bee before!
May 12th, 2013  
What a lovely ginger back, he is gorgeous! Great shot, full of detail and the colour is wonderful.
May 12th, 2013  
Awesome shot. Wonderful detail
May 12th, 2013  
Well, this photo has me humming! :)
May 12th, 2013  
Awesome shot, love the furry back lol
May 12th, 2013  
Thats a great shot Darren and thanks for the interesting description....
May 12th, 2013  
Just fabulous Darren....Its gonna have to BEE a Fav! : )
May 12th, 2013  
Sue
Nice shot Darren, great information!
May 12th, 2013  
Wow, gorgeous, vivid, detailed capture.
May 12th, 2013  
Fabulous capture ...... fav from me :D
May 12th, 2013  
Gorgeous capture - he's so fluffy!
May 12th, 2013  
What a beautiful little bee. Wonderful detail on the wings and body.
May 12th, 2013  
Very good, thanks for the lesson on bee culture, great detail and presentation.
May 12th, 2013  
Good shot. Thanks for the info accompanying it.
May 12th, 2013  
What a beautiful bee. Great shot!
May 12th, 2013  
Wonderful capture Darren!! never seen one of these - thanks for the info!!
May 12th, 2013  
This makes such a beautiful card Darren! So,just to be clear, female bees all surrounded by males that die off frequently but replaced regularly!?
May 12th, 2013  
Such a great shot..........I've never seen one of these before, rather gorgeous:)
May 12th, 2013  
Funky & Punky !
May 12th, 2013  
Haha. Lol. Love this!
May 12th, 2013  
Kev
Unusual bee! Nice capture!
May 13th, 2013  
I can't ever remember seeing a bee like that before. Great photo and thanks for the information Darren.
May 13th, 2013  
He's great and I like his message!
May 13th, 2013  
Fun idea, nice detailed capture and clever processing! And thanks for informative facts!
May 13th, 2013  
He's very smart! Lovely shot.
May 13th, 2013  
fantastic photo Darren Fav
May 13th, 2013  
Amazingly cool and creative!
May 13th, 2013  
Awesome idea and shot! Bravo
May 13th, 2013  
"she needs to wax"...sorry that is the first thing I thought !
Then, "wow...nice macro " ;)
May 13th, 2013  
Beautiful macro capture!!!
May 13th, 2013  
Super shot!!
May 14th, 2013  
Meg
Love!
May 14th, 2013  
Fav.
May 15th, 2013  
Awesome... :)
May 16th, 2013  
Lovely capture Darren.
May 16th, 2013  
Amy
So fuzzy!
May 18th, 2013  
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