Banded furrow bee, Lasioglossum zonulum, a robust dark furrow bee with pale hair bands and a broad square head — *Lasioglossum zonulum*, banded furrow bee. James Lindsey / Ecology of Commanster, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lasioglossum zonulum Furrow beeSummer-flyingGround-nestingSouthern Britain

UK Bee Species

Banded Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum zonulum)

Lasioglossum zonulum Smith, 1848 · subgenus Lasioglossum · family Halictidae

The banded furrow bee is one of Britain's larger furrow bees, a robust, dark halictid with pale hair bands along the abdomen and, in the male, a distinctly “bull-headed” square profile. Widespread but local across southern Britain, it favours composite flowers and thrives on brownfield and dry grassland.

Quick facts

Common name

Banded furrow bee

Also known as

Bull-headed furrow bee

Scientific name

Lasioglossum zonulum

Authority

Smith, 1848

Family

Halictidae

UK status

Widespread but local, southern Britain

Size

Large for the genus, robustly built

Active

April to October

Nesting

Burrows in the ground

Forage

Polylectic; many flower families

Cuckoo

A blood bee, Sphecodes scabricollis

Temperament

Docile, very rarely stings

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Halictidae
Genus	Lasioglossum
Subgenus	Lasioglossum
Species	Lasioglossum zonulum

A big, bull-headed furrow bee

Furrow bees of the genus Lasioglossum take their English name from a fine groove, or furrow, at the tip of the female's abdomen. Most are small and dark, but the banded furrow bee is one of the larger and more robustly built British species.^[2] It has pale hair bands at the sides of the abdominal segments, a shiny and rather sparsely punctured first segment, a warm brown pile on top of the thorax when fresh, and completely black legs.^[1] Compare it against the other British bees on the UK Native Bee Species Map.

Males earn the alternative name bull-headed furrow bee: their heads are noticeably square in top view and their shoulders well developed, giving a stocky, front-heavy look.^[2]

Telling it from the white-zoned furrow bee

The banded furrow bee is easily confused with the very similar white-zoned furrow bee (L. leucozonium). Females of the banded furrow bee have a much paler, yellow-brown wing stigma, a shinier and less densely punctured first segment, a brighter brown thorax pile, and a more square head.^[1]

Most furrow bees are small and easily overlooked. This one is big, square-shouldered and unusually easy to notice.

Where it lives and what it visits

The banded furrow bee is largely restricted to southern England and south Wales, where it is widespread but local.^[2]^[5] It shows a preference for woodland rides and is sometimes coastal, and is not frequent on chalky soils.^[2]

It is polylectic, visiting a range of flower families rather than specialising, though composites of the daisy family such as common fleabane, creeping thistle and hawkbits are among its recorded flowers.^[1]^[2]

All black

The banded furrow bee's completely black legs help separate it from several similar furrow bees.^[2]

Nesting and the blood bee

Like other furrow bees, the banded furrow bee is a ground-nester, the female digging her own burrow and provisioning a series of cells with pollen and nectar.^[3] Its nests are targeted by a cleptoparasitic blood bee, the scarce Sphecodes scabricollis, a red-and-black cuckoo that lays in the furrow bee's cells so that its own grub consumes the stored food.^[2]

Two names

Banded furrow bee for its pale abdominal bands, bull-headed furrow bee for the square-headed male: one bee, two very descriptive names.^[2]

Identification caution

Furrow bees are among the hardest British bees to name from photographs. Reliable records of the banded furrow bee usually need a specimen and a microscope to check wing stigma colour, the punctation of the first abdominal segment and head shape, using a standard key such as Falk (2015).^[4]

Why it matters

As a larger, generalist furrow bee that works composite flowers through the summer, the banded furrow bee is part of the steady background of pollination on grassland and brownfield. Its dependence on flower-rich open ground, and its own dedicated cuckoo, make it a small illustration of how a single common bee anchors a wider web of species. Leaving thistles, fleabane and scabious to flower, and keeping some warm, open ground unmown, supports it directly.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a banded furrow bee?

Look for a large, robustly built dark furrow bee with pale hair bands at the sides of the abdomen, a warm brown thorax when fresh, all-black legs and, in the male, a square, bull-headed profile. A pale yellow-brown wing stigma helps separate it from the very similar white-zoned furrow bee, though a specimen is usually needed to be sure.

What is a furrow bee?

Furrow bees are small to medium solitary bees in the genus Lasioglossum, named for a fine groove at the tip of the female's abdomen. Most are ground-nesting and many are difficult to identify without a microscope.

Why is it also called the bull-headed furrow bee?

Because the males have a distinctly square head and well-developed shoulders, giving them a stocky, front-heavy, “bull-headed” look. Banded furrow bee and bull-headed furrow bee are two names for the same species, Lasioglossum zonulum.

Where does it nest?

In burrows the female digs in the ground, often in sandy soils, dry grassland or brownfield sites, though it also uses lusher, flower-rich places. Each female provisions her own cells with pollen and nectar.

What flowers does it visit?

It is polylectic, visiting a range of flower families rather than specialising. Composites of the daisy family, such as common fleabane, creeping thistle and hawkbits, are among its recorded flowers.

What is Sphecodes scabricollis?

It is a blood bee, a red-and-black cleptoparasitic bee that acts as the banded furrow bee's cuckoo. It lays its eggs in the furrow bee's nest cells, where its grub eats the stored pollen and the host's own larva.

Do banded furrow bees sting?

They are docile and almost never sting, and any sting is very weak. As solitary bees with no colony to defend, they pose no real concern in gardens or around people.

Does the banded furrow bee make honey?

No. Each female stores only enough pollen and nectar for her own larvae, never a surplus. Only the honeybee makes honey in quantity. Compare the bee families in the World Bee Atlas.

Related species

Sources & references

Falk, S. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury, and the Steven Falk Flickr collection: Lasioglossum zonulum (large robust build, pale wing stigma, black legs, bull-headed male, separation from L. leucozonium).
BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society). Species account: Lasioglossum zonulum (Smith, F., 1848): distribution, habitat, polylectic foraging and the cleptoparasite Sphecodes scabricollis. bwars.com.
Falk, S. (2015) and BWARS genus notes: Lasioglossum biology, solitary ground nesting and cell provisioning.
NatureSpot. White-zoned and banded furrow bees (Lasioglossum leucozonium / zonulum): identification difficulty and the need for specimens and a standard key. naturespot.org.
NBN Atlas / GBIF Secretariat. Lasioglossum zonulum (Smith, 1848): taxonomy and UK distribution. nbnatlas.org; gbif.org.

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