Yellow-legged Mining
Andrena flavipes
Habitat
The Yellow-legged Mining lives in Western Europe and North Africa, extending to the northern Himalayas. This bee species inhabits a wide variety of open and sunny landscapes, such as forest edges, dunes, floodplains, parks, heathlands, dikes, quarries, and city parks.
Appearance
Life cycle
The Yellow-legged Mining is bivoltine: it has two generations per year. The first generation flies from early March to early June. The second generation flies from mid-June to early September. The Yellow-legged Mining digs its nest in firm, clayey or loamy soil. New nests are usually located within a decimeter of an existing nest.
What can you do?
The Yellow-legged Mining pollinates various plants in diverse habitats. You can help this bee species by planting plants in your garden or surrounding area where they can find nectar and pollen. Suitable plants include Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Willow (Salix), plants of Mustards family (Brassicaceae), plants of Aster family (Asteraceae), plants of Parsley family (Apiaceae), and plants of Legume family (Fabaceae). This bee species also feeds on fruit trees, such as Apple (Malus), Pear (Pyrus), and Wild Cherry (Prunus avium).
Besides food, they also need nesting sites. You can help them by creating open, sunny spots with loose, sandy soil in your garden. They can build their nests there year after year.
Caution with some plant species
The flowers, leaves, and roots of the Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are edible. The stems, however, are not.
All parts of the Sweet cherry (Prunus avium) are poisonous, except for the ripe cherries.
