Busy Bees - and too busy to pose for a portrait!

[Geoff F]

Another of those days. Walked for 10 minutes along the cliff top then realised my glasses were still in the vehicle! Not going back now; just struggle on. But it meant working mostly by guesswork without closely reviewing what I was shooting.

Found some Ashy Mining Bees (Andrena cinearia) but they were too busy to stop for a chat and a photo. So I snapped what I could while they worked on.

Females were rushing around looking for suitable sites to dig a nest burrow. And the males were frantically searching for any unmated females.

So this is the best I could manage.





And now the natural history lesson:-

These bees lay one egg in each burrow. But there is another type of cuckoo bee which searches out these burrows and lays its own egg in there. This one hatches first and kills the Andrena larvae. There are a number of these Nomanda bee species. Some target just one species of Andrena while others are more general.

These Nomada lathburiana bees particularly target Andrena cinearia.



And just like the Andrena, females were searching out the burrows while males were looking to mate. Both species were rushing around together. But, of course, as soon as I pointed a camera towards an individual bee, it had an urgent appointment elsewhere!

Anyway, these images might not be perfect but they illustrate the tale.

ps. Although there is competition between the two species to see which can outwit the other, they both seem to be surviving well and are increasing in numbers.

[deetheturk]

I think you should leave your specs in the car more often Geoff,nice images and another first for me,never seen any of these bee-4

[Downrigger]

Very nice set - I like the third best - depicts so clearly and is so nicely composed. And thanks for the interesting entomology!

[Shadowman]

Nice.

[bnnrcn]

Thanks for the story Geoff,life is difficult for everyone I like #3 more with nice colours,composition and posture

[IzzieK]

I agree with David, Geoff...leave your specs often -- you'll produce good images anyway. I love all of them. Nothing to nit about. And lovely story. Just to know that they survive despite the competition amongst them, is remarkable in itself. And thanks for adding to my knowledge about bees.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Nomada species are rather difficult to identify because they can vary a little between individuals of the same species; and with some species males and females can be different. You need exactly the right camera angles to have any hope of identifying them from photos.

Knowing which species of bee they are targeting is useful.

I do find Nomada to be an interesting family and always keep a look out for them during the Spring.