Ashy Mining Bee

The Ashy Mining Bee or Grey Mining Bee is one of the most distinctive springtime solitary bees, with striking black and grey-white markings. The females are honeybee sized bees with a glossy black abdomen. They have two bands of grey hair across the top and bottom of their thorax and white hair on their face. Males are black and have obvious grey hairs at the top of the abdomen and along the side of the thorax. Males are smaller than females. Male Ashy Mining Bees have thirteen segments to their antennae, whilst the females only have twelve segments.

The Ashy Mining Bee has a single flight period each year and appears in late March through until early June. Males emerge well before females. They can be seen in various open sunny places, favouring sites with sandy soil, including coastal areas, moorlands, river banks and open woodland, but can be seen in gardens and urban areas.

They feed from a wide variety of spring flowers and shrubs, including various fruit trees, hawthorn, blackthorn and gorse.

Females excavate small burrows in the ground to create their nests. Although they are a solitary species, they can occasionally be found nesting in large groups.

The Ashy Mining Bee can be commonly found throughout most of England and Wales and the South West and West of Scotland.