Heather mining bee, Andrena fuscipes, a ginger-thoraxed mining bee on heather

Andrena fuscipes, the heather mining bee. Conny Leijdekker-Winthorst (Waarneming.nl), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Andrena fuscipes | Mining bee Heather specialist Late summer Heathland only

UK Bee Species

Heather Mining Bee (Andrena fuscipes)

Andrena fuscipes (Kirby, 1802) · family Andrenidae

The heather mining bee lives its whole life by the heather. A late-summer bee of heaths and moors, it flies only when the ling is in bloom and gathers its pollen from almost nothing else. Where heather is abundant it can be common, but its fortunes are bound tightly to that one habitat. 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 nameHeather mining bee

Scientific nameAndrena fuscipes

AuthorityKirby, 1802

FamilyAndrenidae (mining bees)

UK statusLocal; confined to heathland

HabitatHeath and moorland only

ActiveJuly to September

PeakAugust, with the ling bloom

Pollen sourceHeathers, mainly Ling

NestingBare, sandy ground in heather

CuckooBlack-horned nomad bee

RangeBritain, north to Sutherland

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Andrenidae
Genus	Andrena
Species	Andrena fuscipes

A bee that lives by the ling

The heather mining bee is one of our most tightly specialised solitary bees. It is univoltine, flying in a single late-summer generation from July to September that peaks in August as the ling comes into bloom, and it gathers pollen almost exclusively from heathers, above all Common Heather or ling (Calluna vulgaris).^[1] Males and females alike are rarely seen at anything other than heather, and the species is entirely confined to heathland and moorland.^[2] Its whole calendar is set by a single plant.

In step with the heather

The heather mining bee waits for August. Its flight is timed to the flowering of the ling, and where heather carpets a heath or moor in late summer this bee can suddenly be one of the most abundant insects on the wing.^[2]

How to identify the heather mining bee

Females have a golden-ginger to light-brown pile on the thorax and a dark brown abdomen crossed by clear pale bands, with buff side-tufts and a shiny galea.^[2] The combination of a late-summer flight, a strict heathland setting and constant attendance at heather flowers is usually enough to place it.^[3] The most similar species is the rare Andrena simillima, from which the heather mining bee differs in its smaller size, buff rather than white side-tufts, duller thoracic hair and a paler hind-leg pollen brush.^[2]

Find a heath purple with ling in August, and the small ginger bees working it are almost certainly heather mining bees.

The heather mining bee has its own heathland cuckoo, the black-horned nomad bee (Nomada rufipes). Where you see this wasp-like nomad working a heath, its host is very likely nesting close by.^[1]

Where it lives and why it matters

The heather mining bee is found throughout Great Britain on heather-dominated heaths, with records reaching north to Sutherland, and it nests singly or in dispersed groups in bare, sandy ground among the heather.^[1][5] Because Britain holds so much of north-west Europe's remaining heathland, our populations may form a significant share of the species' world total, which gives this unassuming bee real conservation importance.^[1] As a heather specialist it is also an effective pollinator of ling, part of what keeps these purple late-summer landscapes alive.

Source conflict

Its conservation status reads very differently depending where you stand. In Britain it is not regarded as nationally scarce or threatened, yet it is a priority species in Northern Ireland, known there from a single coastal site and assessed as Vulnerable, and it is listed as severely endangered on the German Red List. A bee can be locally common and internationally fragile at the same time, especially one tied to a habitat in long-term decline.^[1][4]

Caring for the heather mining bee

Everything this bee needs comes from healthy heathland: large stands of flowering ling for forage and bare, well-drained sandy ground for nesting. Lowland heath is one of Britain's most reduced habitats, so conserving and restoring it, and resisting the loss of heaths to development, scrub and afforestation, is the single most important thing for the heather mining bee and the many other specialists that share its ground.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a heather mining bee?

Look on heathland in late summer for a small mining bee with a golden-ginger thorax and a dark, pale-banded abdomen, attending heather flowers. Its strict heathland setting, August flight and constant visits to ling are the best clues; the very similar Andrena simillima is rare and slightly different in its hair colour and pollen brush.

What does the heather mining bee feed on?

Almost only heathers, and chiefly ling (Calluna vulgaris). It is an oligolege, a specialist that gathers its pollen from a single group of plants, so it is rarely seen away from heather.

When is it active?

It flies in a single generation from July to September, peaking in August with the flowering of the ling. Outside that late-summer window the adults are not seen.

Where does it live and nest?

Only on heaths and moors with plenty of heather. It nests in bare, well-drained sandy ground among the heather, either singly or in loose, dispersed groups.

Is the heather mining bee endangered?

In Britain it is not considered nationally scarce, but it is a priority species in Northern Ireland, where it is Vulnerable and known from one site, and it is severely endangered in Germany. Its dependence on declining heathland makes it locally fragile.

What is the black-horned nomad bee?

It is the heather mining bee's cuckoo: a heathland nomad bee (Nomada rufipes) that lays its eggs in the host's nests. Seeing it on a heath is a good sign that the heather mining bee is present.

Does the heather mining bee make heather honey?

No. Although it lives on heather, it stores only enough pollen and nectar to feed its own larvae, never a surplus. Heather honey is made by honeybees working the same ling. Compare the bee families in the World Bee Atlas.

Does it sting?

It can, but it is very docile and almost never stings, and the sting is weak. With no colony to defend, heather mining bees are no threat to people or pets.

Related species

Mining bee

Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Andrena flavipesRead more → Mining bee

Tawny Mining Bee

Andrena fulvaRead more → Mining bee

Ashy Mining Bee

Andrena cinerariaRead more →

Sources & references

BWARS (Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society). Species account: Andrena fuscipes (Kirby, 1802), heather specialism, univoltine flight, nesting, distribution, the cuckoo Nomada rufipes and European status. bwars.com.
Falk, S. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury, notes for Andrena fuscipes (identification, separation from A. simillima, flight, heathland confinement). Steven Falk Flickr collection.
Buzz About Bees. Heather mining bee (Andrena fuscipes): habitat, ling forage, nesting and the indicator value of Nomada rufipes. buzzaboutbees.net.
Northern Ireland Priority Species account (Habitas / National Museums NI). Andrena fuscipes: single Co. Down locality, Vulnerable on the Irish bee red list, heathland-loss threat.
GBIF Secretariat / NBN Atlas. Andrena fuscipes (Kirby, 1802): taxonomy and UK distribution to Sutherland. gbif.org; nbnatlas.org.

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