Social Distancing Week 7. Hairy-footed Flower Bee.

I’ve been watching a colony of these beautiful bees since the middle of March. I initially noticed them in one of the flower beds in my village five years ago and now I watch out for them each year. Hairy-footed Flower Bees (Anthophora plumipes) are one of the earliest solitary bees to appear and are always the first one that I see. My earliest record is 1^st March, this year they appeared on 17^th March. The first sighting is one of my favourite spring records.

The males are first to appear. They inhabit a patch of Pulmonaria, one of the few flowers around in early March. A week or so later the females begin to show up. Gradually their territory increases and I see them at several different nearby locations. Their flower preferences also increase. Green Alkanet, Rosemary and Cowslip are the favourites.

Males and females are completely different in appearance but their behaviour is quite similar. Males are buff coloured with a dark thorax and a paler abdomen, most noticeably they have a hairy white face. Females are all black but when they are carrying a pollen load their legs appear to be coloured, usually orange or red. They are quite small, usually less than 15mm, but very round and hairy. The most noticeable characteristic is their movement. They are one of the most active of insects. The females are constantly flitting from flower to flower, whilst the males desperately try to attract females or chase off other males.

Unfortunately my watch doesn’t last for long. The bees have quite a short flight period so they will gradually disappear over the next few weeks.

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