Andrena clarkella
Very early bees, that fly mid-February to the end of May. They are widely distributed in the UK and are associated with sallow blossom.
The females are robust and hairy, with dense black hairs on the head and abdomen and orangey/brown hairs on the thorax and hind tibia and basitarsus. The males are smaller and slimmer with longer, paler hairs on the face. Andrena clarkella is parasitised by the cuckoo bee Nomada leucophthalma
See my BLOG post about these bees.
The females are robust and hairy, with dense black hairs on the head and abdomen and orangey/brown hairs on the thorax and hind tibia and basitarsus. The males are smaller and slimmer with longer, paler hairs on the face. Andrena clarkella is parasitised by the cuckoo bee Nomada leucophthalma
See my BLOG post about these bees.
