Non-honey bees


You are what you eat

The Grey-backed Mining Bee (Andrena vaga) is one of signs of spring in Europe. It is a pollen specialist (oligolectic) species, and the females collect pollen only from willows (Salix). I didn’t notice that before but the fluffy fur on their thorax is strikingly similar in colour and texture to the hairy willow catkins before they become covered in yellow stamens.

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