Gray sand bee
| Gray sand bee | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gray sand bee ( Andrena cineraria ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Andrena cineraria | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The gray sand bee ( Andrena cineraria ) is a solitary bee from the genus of sand bees ( Andrena ).
features
female
The females of this rather large type of bee grow to around 13-15 mm. They have a black basic color. The hair on the forehead is light, the thorax is lightly haired with a dark transverse band. The legs are lightly hairy on the thighs, otherwise black. The abdomen is bald and has a bluish sheen.
male
The males are 10–13 mm smaller than the females. Her head is covered with plenty of light hair. Thorax and thighs also have quite lush, light hair. The abdomen is sparsely hairy, especially on the sides. The tibia and feet are dark. Occasionally the males also have a pale dark band on the thorax, but this is weaker than in the females.
Similar species
Andrena barbarae is drawn in a similar way to Andrena cineraria , but has darker wings than this. The males are similar to those of Andrena vaga . However, these have lighter legs.
Occurrence
The animals are found in almost all of Europe . They can be found from the Mediterranean to northern Sweden and Finland. In the east their distribution area extends to East Asia. They are found in many habitats and also live regularly in gardens and parks.
Way of life
The bees fly in one generation per year from mid-March (males) or early April (females) to the end of May. They feed polylectically on the nectar and pollen of a number of different plants.
development
The females dig nests in the ground, digging two to three brood cells approx. 10 to 25 centimeters deep in one nest. They usually nest individually or in loose groups. The bees are not very demanding when it comes to choosing a nesting site. Small gaps between herbs in meadows and fallow land are often populated. The nest openings remain open during the day, they are only closed at night and when it rains. The bees carry pollen into each brood chamber, in which the female then lays an egg. Pupation takes place in a cocoon , whereby the animals hibernate in the cocoon as fully moulted bees and only hatch in spring.
Parasites
The bees' larvae are made by various wasp bees , such as B. the red-haired wasp bee ( Nomada lathburiana ) or Nomada goodeniana , parasitized . The nests are also attacked by satellite flies of the genus Leucophora or by the large woolly swimmer ( Bombylius major ).
supporting documents
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : bees, wasps, ants. Hymenoptera of Central Europe . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-440-09690-4 .
- Andreas Müller, Albert Krebs, Felix Amiet: Bees. Central European species, way of life, observation. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-89440-241-5 .
- C. Schmid-Egger & E. Scheuchl: Illustrated identification keys for wild bees in Germany and Austria. Volume III: Andrenidae. (1997)
Web links
- www.wildbienen.de (German)
- BWARS Andrena cineraria (Eng.)
- S. Falk: Andrena cineraria flickr (engl.)