Gwynne's mining bee, Andrena bicolor, a small mining bee with a reddish-brown thorax

Andrena bicolor, Gwynne's mining bee. James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Andrena bicolor | Mining bee Two generations a year Common Subgenus Euandrena

UK Bee Species

Gwynne's Mining Bee (Andrena bicolor)

Andrena bicolor Fabricius, 1775 · subgenus Euandrena

Gwynne's mining bee is one of Britain's commonest and most widespread small mining bees, found from lowland gardens to the Scottish mountains. Unusually, it raises two generations a year, with each brood favouring different flowers, from spring primroses to late-summer bellflowers. See where it sits among Britain's bees on the UK Native Bee Species Map, or among the world's bees in the World Bee Atlas.

Quick Facts

Common nameGwynne's mining bee

Scientific nameAndrena bicolor

AuthorityFabricius, 1775

SubgenusEuandrena

FamilyAndrenidae (mining bees)

UK statusCommon and widespread

SizeSmallish

GenerationsTwo per year (bivoltine)

ActiveMarch to August

ForageVery broad; 20-plus plant genera

CuckooFabricius' nomad bee

RangeAll of Britain, into N Scotland

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Andrenidae
Genus	Andrena
Subgenus	Euandrena
Species	Andrena bicolor

A small bee with two seasons

Gwynne's mining bee is a smallish Andrena and one of the most frequently encountered solitary bees in Britain, distributed across the whole of Great Britain including northern Scotland.^[3][5] Its most striking trait is that it is bivoltine, raising two distinct generations in a year: a spring brood from March to early June and a summer brood from mid-June to late August.^[3] Each generation has its own floral leanings, with spring females fond of primrose and summer females strongly associated with bellflowers such as harebell, as well as white bryony.^[1]

Two broods, very broad tastes

Few British mining bees fit two full generations into a year. Gwynne's mining bee does, and it is extremely polylectic, recorded foraging from more than twenty genera of plants across many families, which helps it thrive almost everywhere.^[3]

How to identify Gwynne's mining bee

Females have a reddish-brown pile on top of the thorax and a sparse covering of brownish hairs on the abdomen that form weak bands, with a dull orange pollen brush on the hind legs and a black-haired face.^[2] Males are slimmer, lack a conspicuous pollen brush and have notably long black hairs on the face.^[2] This is a tricky bee to name with certainty: females of Andrena angustior with black-haired faces look very similar, and small specimens of Clark's mining bee can also cause confusion, so reliable identification often needs a close look at fine characters.^[2]

Small, common and easily overlooked, Gwynne's mining bee quietly works two seasons of flowers where many bees manage one.

20+

Gwynne's mining bee has been recorded foraging from more than twenty genera of plants. That generalist diet, combined with two generations a year, is a recipe for one of our most adaptable and widespread mining bees.^[3]

Lifecycle and associates

Like all mining bees, Gwynne's mining bee is solitary and ground-nesting: each female digs her own burrow and provisions cells with pollen and nectar.^[3] Because it is double-brooded, adults can be seen across much of the warmer half of the year rather than for a single short window. Its larvae are attacked by a dedicated cuckoo, Fabricius' nomad bee (Nomada fabriciana), which is itself bivoltine to match its host, appearing in both the spring and summer flight periods.^[1][4]

Source conflict

This is a notoriously hard bee to identify from photographs. It overlaps closely with Andrena angustior and, in small individuals, with Clark's mining bee, and separating them reliably can require microscopic features such as the form of the clypeus and the tergite margins. Many casual records of one of these species may include the others.^[2]

Why it matters

Gwynne's mining bee is a quiet workhorse of the pollinating world: small, abundant and active across two seasons, spreading its visits across a huge range of wild and garden flowers. Its very ordinariness is its value, providing steady pollination from spring primroses to late-summer bellflowers. Letting gardens and grassland flower through the year, and tolerating a little bare, sunny ground for nesting, keeps common species like this one common.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I identify Gwynne's mining bee?

Look for a small mining bee with a reddish-brown thorax, weak pale bands on the abdomen, a dull orange hind-leg pollen brush and a black-haired face. It is genuinely difficult to separate from Andrena angustior and small Clark's mining bees, so close views or expert checks are often needed.

What does bivoltine mean?

It means the bee has two generations in a single year. Gwynne's mining bee flies as a spring brood from March, then again as a summer brood from mid-June into late August, unlike most British mining bees which fly only once.

What flowers does it visit?

A very wide range, more than twenty plant genera. The spring generation is especially fond of primrose, while the summer generation favours bellflowers such as harebell and also white bryony.

Is it common?

Yes. It is one of the commonest and most widespread mining bees in Britain, found across the whole country including northern Scotland, in gardens, grassland and many other habitats.

What is Fabricius' nomad bee?

It is Gwynne's mining bee's cuckoo: a nomad bee (Nomada fabriciana) that lays its eggs in the host's nests. Like its host it is bivoltine, flying in both the spring and summer broods.

Why is it called Gwynne's mining bee?

It carries an English vernacular name, Gwynne's mining bee, alongside its scientific name Andrena bicolor, which was described by Fabricius in 1775. The Latin name refers to its two-coloured appearance.

Do Gwynne's mining bees sting?

They can, but they are very docile and almost never sting, and the sting is weak. With no colony to defend they are safe around gardens, children and pets.

Does Gwynne's mining bee make honey?

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

Related species

Lookalike

Clark's Mining Bee

Andrena clarkellaRead more → Also bivoltine

Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Andrena flavipesRead more → Mining bee

Ashy Mining Bee

Andrena cinerariaRead more →

Sources & references

BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society). Species account: Andrena bicolor, generation-specific forage (primrose, white bryony, bellflowers) and the cuckoo Nomada fabriciana. bwars.com.
Falk, S. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury, notes for Andrena bicolor (female and male characters, separation from A. angustior, bivoltine flight). Steven Falk Flickr collection.
Falk, S. et al. (2024). The genome sequence of Gwynne's mining bee, Andrena bicolor Fabricius, 1775. Wellcome Open Research 9:117 (subgenus Euandrena, bivoltine dates, polylecty, distribution).
NatureSpot. Fabricius' nomad bee (Nomada fabriciana): bivoltine cuckoo of Andrena bicolor. naturespot.org.
GBIF Secretariat / NBN Atlas. Andrena bicolor Fabricius, 1775: taxonomy and UK distribution. gbif.org; nbnatlas.org.

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