Buff-banded Mining Bee
Fast Facts
Latin name: Andrena simillina
Notable feature: Dense, orange and pale-yellow fur.
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated
Where in the UK: Devon/Cornwall. Recent records from around Salisbury Plain.
Buff Banded Mining Bee (Andrena simillina) © Will Hawkes
The Buff-banded Mining Bee (Andrena simillina) is a medium-sized mining-bee. This solitary bee is a rather hairy creature with a pale haired face, russet-coloured hair atop their thorax. Their abdomen, as their name suggests, is banded with buff-coloured hair.
This bee is notable for its rarity. It is almost exclusively found in Devon and Cornwall. However, there are recent records from around Salisbury plain.
As with many of the rarer bees in the British Isles, we don’t know exactly why certain species are rare, especially when their food plants are quite common. But the reasons for decline are likely to include loss and fragmentation of wildflower-rich habitats, climate breakdown, and pesticide use.
- Size: Wing length of 9mm, whole body ~13mm
- Life span: Adults are active for two months.
- Diet: Flowers visited include: Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica), Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), thistles (Cirsium spp.), Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) and brambles.
- Reproduction: More research required, but this bee is thought to nest singly, on south facing slopes which are sparsely vegetated.
- When to see: Active in July and August.
- Population Trend: Declining in UK, Europe uncertain.
- Threats: Loss of wildflower-rich habitat.
- Interesting Fact: This bee is thought by some to not be its own species at all, rather a light-coloured form of the Black-headed Mining Bee (Andrena nigriceps). More research is needed to truly untangle this debate.
Buglife is helping the recovery of populations of Buff-banded Mining Bee and other wildlife via our projects and campaigns, including Kernow Wyls – People for Pollinators, Solitary Bee Week and B-Lines, but we need your help!
Buglife B-Lines are an imaginative and beautiful solution to the problem of the loss of flowers and pollinators. B-Lines are a series of ‘insect pathways’ running through our countryside and towns, along which we are restoring and creating a series of wildflower-rich habitat stepping stones. Linking existing wildlife areas together, creating a network, like a railway, that will weave across the UK landscape. More information about B-Lines and how you can help pollinators can be found here.
Join a recording scheme and log your finds – send any records/sightings to BWARS or download the iRecord app and get recording!
Do remember that we rely on donations to continue our work. If you have searched, found and learned about our incredible invertebrates on our website, please do consider Making a Donation, Becoming a Member or maybe even making a purchase in our shop. For more ideas on how to support our work find out how to Get Involved. Thank you 🕷
You might also be interested in