Hairy-footed flower bee, Anthophora plumipes
Hairy-footed flower bee (female), Anthophora plumipes (submitted by NaturePlus user poldens)
These bees are solitary, meaning they live in individual burrows rather than in a colony. However, females often create nest burrows close to each other in holes of lose mortar or soil heaps. They are often found indoors when females use chimney stacks as nest sites.
Males and females look quite different from each other, but both fly with their tongues out and have a fast and jerky flight, and often hover in front of flowers.
Males are ginger in colour, while females are black with orange hairs on their rear legs.
They are a spring bee, active from March to June.
