Widely recorded across Europe, with local variation in abundance and northern or southern range limits.
Fine-art photographic collection
Andrena fulva
A lawn-dwelling bee whose underground nurseries can persist for generations.
About this species
Tawny Mining Bee
Andrena fulva(Müller, 1766)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Female tawny mining bees excavate branching nests beneath lawns and short turf, leaving miniature volcanoes of soil around the entrances. Although each female works alone, large nesting aggregations can occupy the same ground year after year.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Andrenidae · Andrena
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
EuropeBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Open or semi-open flower-rich habitat with suitable soil for nesting; exact preferences vary across the species range.
Seasonal and diurnal; the precise flight period varies with latitude and climate.
Adults take nectar; females collect pollen to provision brood cells.
Solitary ground-nesting bee; several females may nest close together.
What makes this species remarkable?
One female can construct two or three separate nests, with each nest usually containing four or five individually provisioned brood cells.
Successful nesting aggregations can persist for many years, producing conspicuous fields of tiny soil volcanoes each spring.
Bee-fly larvae can invade these burrows after their mother flicks eggs towards the entrances, consuming the stored food and sometimes the host larva.
Sources and scientific references
More photographs
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