Two weeks ago my wife and I were outside getting our vegetable garden prepped and seeded. While I was puttering around I noticed what I thought to be a few honey bees buzzing around. However, their behavior was very odd. They were slowly flying around the ground, occasionally landing to walk around a bit before taking off again. I began watching intently as my curiosity peaked. Laying on my stomach I followed the progress of one of these insects, as I landed in front of me I noticed that it was very close in appearance to a honey bee. The differences were subtle, while the head looked like a honey bee and it still had a fuzzy thorax, the hair was reddish yellow in colour, the abdomen was shiny jet black and smooth much like a fly. Another thing I noticed was that they were almost silent during flight, many times flying over my head without a sound. After a few minutes of observation, I noticed that one of the bees had permanently landed and was starting digging a hole into the dirt. Most curious. I ran inside to get my google on.
My instincts were right! It was a solitary species of bee native to Alberta. The Andrenid Bee, also known as "mining bees". These bees will dig a nest so they can lay an egg. They will then forage for pollen which they can stock up around the egg. Once there is enough food for the egg, the female will seal up the entrance and leave. While considered a solitary species, usually there will be many nests in close proximity giving the appearance of a colony.
This leaves me in a bit of a dilemma because the bees have setup home in the clay I placed around my house last year to grade. I had planned on compacting it and laying some topsoil and sod...can I do that now? Decisions, decisions.
Here are some pictures of the nests and bees. They took me a while to get and I bet my neighbours thought I was a bit nuts crawling around my front yard military style with camera in hand.
One of many burrows.
Bee inside a burrow, if you look closely you can see her face.
Posing for her close up.
Your neighbours thought you were crazy - how about your wife! ;)
ReplyDeleteGood shots though. I haven't seen any Andrenid bees around lately, but I'll have a look as I'm outside gardening today.
Somehow . i located your website.And how is your andrenid bee society doing today? i am getting desperate with my situation. What started out as a few bee holes in exposed soil 3 years ago - I am in Winnipeg- they have multiplied making a mess of my flowers beds- but worse- i believe they are living underground in my whole lawn, as it has developed bumps and lumps - thsy are a total nuisance- and now I am finding ways to eradicate them- any comments??
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