I have seen little mounds of earth and small bees tunnelling in my garden lawn. What are they?
These are most likely to be solitary mining bees. There are many species of mining bee throughout the world. In Europe and North America, the commonest ones belong to the genus Andrena, in the UK and Europe they could be Andrena fulva, or in the USA A. erythronii. Every spring the females excavate tunnels as nests in which they lay eggs. Each egg is laid in a cell and is provisioned with a ball of pollen mixed with nectar. At the top of the tunnel, there is a mound of excavated soil, somewhat like a worm cast, and sometimes you can see the females sitting on the mound sunning themselves. These bees will not harm you and help pollination. Click here for a free down load offering more information on all types of Solitary Bee.
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