Lady Grey-patched Mining-bee

Dark-bordered Bee-flies have been very obvious in the garden for several weeks, but the recent spell of warm weather has brought out the solitary bees that their larvae parasitise. One of the larger and more easily identified are female Grey-patched Mining Bee Andrena nitida. This is a large mining-bee with, when fresh, bright, foxy-brown hair on the thorax and a polished black abdomen. The males are rather drabber and more difficult to identify, but have a lot of white hair on their faces.

Not much to report today  - another Zoom meeting this evening with the Langdyke Trust. Nice to see everyone and have a chat. We discussed forthcoming events and projects, though it's quite hard to maintain enthusiasm when we have no idea when and how we'll be able to exit the current lockdown.