Green-eyed Flower Bee (f) - a photo on Flickriver

Green-eyed Flower Bee (f)

            Green-eyed Flower Bee / anthophora bimaculata. Minsmere, Suffolk. 23/07/20.

'ARRIVING SAFELY BACK HOME.'

I remember thinking this diminutive bee could have easily sat on my little fingernail with room to spare! Small though she was, her shrill hum was HUGE ... and ear-piercing!

She had made her nest burrow in a slight sandy slope beneath some grasses. Perhaps their roots added stability to it? I noticed others had located in similar places, although it didn't seem to be an exclusive practice. 

This female would have sealed up the entrance to her burrow before she left it. On returning, I had watched her flying in ever decreasing circles until she had located the exact spot. In the image, she had just landed and had the task of digging the sandy grains out before she could enter.
Her excavating method was fascinating and done in a set style that never altered :-
* she stood and raised her body up on her middle set of legs
*she dug the sand grains out with her front set of legs
*she pushed away the excavated grains with her back legs.

BEST VIEWED LARGE. 
   

Taken on: July 23, 2020

Tags:

green-eyed flower bee

anthophora bimaculata

suffolk

adult

invertebrate

bee

solitary bee

mainly S.England

widespread

localised

locally frequent

E. + W. England outliers

expanding their range

coastland

inland

cliff faces

coastal dunes

lowland heaths

commons

landslip areas

light, sandy soils

very small

rapid flight

very shrill hum

drill-like hum

yellow face

large, pale green eyes

nest in exposed soil

burrow up to 5cm long

nest in dense aggregations

burrow into slopes

burrow into level surfaces

fly late June-September

summer

hot + sunny

low trackside slope

'digger alley'

female

about to open her nest burrow

beneath grass roots

close encounter

low PoV

macro

bokeh « less

Sets appears in: • Upload to flickr • Insects & Spiders

Groups appears in: • Wildlife Of Great Britain and Ireland. • Birds and Wildlife UK more » • Countryfile • Wildlife UK • British Bees, Wasps and Ants (Hymenoptera) • Suffolk Wildlife • BBC Springwatch (Official) • Butterflies, Moths and Insects UK • Wildlife In East Anglia • WILD BRITAIN. • East of England Wildlife • RSPB Minsmere • Wild life photography bokeh • Birds and nature of the uk • Wildlife Lockdown Images « less

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