Southern and central Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Balkans, Anatolia and parts of western Asia.
Fine-art photographic collection
Andrena trimmerana
A bee whose spring and summer generations look so different they were once named as separate species.
About this species
Trimmer's Mining Bee
Andrena trimmerana(Kirby, 1802)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Andrena trimmerana produces two broods each year. The spring and summer adults differ markedly in colour and structure, especially the males, creating a remarkable seasonal transformation within one species.
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
Southern Europe to western AsiaBroad 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?
Spring males carry a conspicuous spine on the side of the head, while males from the summer brood emerge without it.
The seasonal forms are so different that the spring brood was formerly described and treated as a separate species, Andrena spinigera.
Summer individuals are often much more extensively red-marked than spring adults, making the two generations look like different bees.