Orange-tailed mining bee, Andrena haemorrhoa, with a foxy-red thorax and orange-tipped tail

Andrena haemorrhoa, the orange-tailed mining bee. Lukas Large, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Andrena haemorrhoa | Mining bee Spring-flying Common Ground-nesting

UK Bee Species

Orange-tailed Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa)

Andrena haemorrhoa (Fabricius, 1781) · subgenus Taeniandrena

The orange-tailed mining bee is one of the most distinctive and widespread spring mining bees in Britain. A neat, foxy-thoraxed bee with a bright orange tip to its tail, it is an early pollinator of hawthorn, fruit blossom and garden flowers, and a familiar sight nesting in lawns and sunny banks from March onwards. 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 nameOrange-tailed mining bee

Scientific nameAndrena haemorrhoa

AuthorityFabricius, 1781

SubgenusTaeniandrena

FamilyAndrenidae (mining bees)

UK statusWidespread and locally common

SizeMedium (forewing 7 to 10 mm)

ActiveSpring, around March to June

NestingLight soils, sunny banks

ForagePolylectic; hawthorn, fruit blossom

CuckooFork-jawed nomad bee

TemperamentDocile, very rarely stings

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Andrenidae
Genus	Andrena
Subgenus	Taeniandrena
Species	Andrena haemorrhoa

A foxy thorax and an orange tail

Mining bees of the genus Andrena are solitary, ground-nesting bees: each female digs her own burrow and stocks a series of cells with pollen and nectar.^[1] The orange-tailed mining bee is a medium-sized, distinctive member of the group, with a forewing of 7 to 10 mm.^[3] Fresh females are unmistakable, with a neat pile of short, rich-red hairs on top of the thorax, a dull slaty-black abdomen that is almost bare except for a tuft of bright orange hairs at the very tip, and yellow hind legs.^[2] Males have a rich brown thorax, buff-brown hairs at the tail tip, orange hind legs and a buff face with no black hairs.^[2]

Look for the orange tail-tip

The bright orange hairs at the very end of the abdomen give this bee both its English name and its quickest field mark. On a fresh female the foxy-red thorax and orange tail together make it one of the easier spring mining bees to recognise.^[2]

Where it lives and what it visits

The orange-tailed mining bee is widespread and locally common across the UK, and across most of Europe it can be one of the most abundant bees where it occurs, absent only from the most extreme habitats.^[3][5] Females nest in light soils, favouring south-facing banks, short swards and the margins of paths and tracks, with nesting often in loose, dispersed groups.^[3] It is widely polylectic, visiting a broad range of spring flowers but with a particular liking for the rose family, including hawthorn, and it may be an important pollinator of orchard crops such as apple.^[3]

A foxy thorax, an orange tail and a fondness for hawthorn: the orange-tailed mining bee is spring on the wing.

Wherever the orange-tailed mining bee nests, watch for its cuckoo, the fork-jawed nomad bee. This wasp-like cleptoparasite can detect nests still being stocked, slips in to lay an egg, and its grub then eats the host's larva and food store.^[4]

Lifecycle

This is a spring bee, on the wing from around March into June, with males typically emerging a little earlier than females and sometimes gathering around flowering gorse and other shrubs.^[3] After mating, each female excavates her own nest, provisions the cells with pollen and nectar, and seals them; the next generation develops underground through the year and emerges the following spring.^[1] Like all mining bees it is solitary, with no queen, no workers and no shared nest to defend, which makes it gentle and all but incapable of stinging through skin.

Source conflict

Accounts vary on how sociable its nesting is. Some describe the orange-tailed mining bee nesting singly or in small groups, while others record loose, dispersed aggregations in suitable banks and lawns. In practice it sits between the two: solitary in that every female works her own burrow, but often clustered where the ground is right.^[2][4]

Why it matters

As an abundant, early-emerging generalist, the orange-tailed mining bee is a workhorse pollinator of spring blossom, including hawthorn and fruit trees. Its dense, mixed activity also feeds a small web of dependent insects, from its cuckoo bee to the predators of both. Leaving sunny banks and lawn edges a little wild, and growing early flowers such as willows, dandelions and blossoming shrubs, supports this bee and the spring pollination it provides.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I identify an orange-tailed mining bee?

Look in spring for a medium mining bee with a neat foxy-red thorax, a dull blackish abdomen and a distinctive tuft of bright orange hairs at the very tip of the tail, with yellow hind legs. The orange tail-tip is the quickest clue. Males are browner with orange legs and a plain buff face.

What is a mining bee?

Mining bees are solitary, ground-nesting bees, mostly in the genus Andrena. Each female digs her own burrow with several cells, stocks each with pollen and nectar, and lays one egg per cell. There is no queen, no worker caste and no shared nest.

When is the orange-tailed mining bee active?

It is a spring species, flying from around March into June. Males usually emerge a little before females and can be seen patrolling around gorse and other shrubs.

Where does it nest?

In light soils, especially south-facing banks, short turf and the edges of paths, lawns and tracks. Nests are often loosely grouped where the ground suits, though each female tends her own burrow.

What flowers does it visit?

It is a generalist that visits many spring flowers, with a particular liking for the rose family including hawthorn, and it may be a useful pollinator of orchard fruit such as apple.

What is the fork-jawed nomad bee?

It is the orange-tailed mining bee's cuckoo: a wasp-like nomad bee that lays its eggs in the host's nest, where its grub eats the stored food and the host larva. Seeing it flying low over a bank is a sign the mining bee is nesting nearby.

Do orange-tailed mining bees sting?

They can in theory, but they are extremely docile and almost never do, and the sting is too weak to be of concern. With no colony to defend they are safe around gardens, children and pets.

Does the orange-tailed mining bee make honey?

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

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 haemorrhoa (Fabricius, 1781), nesting and biology. bwars.com.
Falk, S. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury, notes for Andrena haemorrhoa (female and male characters, rugose propodeum, nesting, host). Steven Falk Flickr collection.
Crowley, L.M. et al. (2023). The genome sequence of the Orange-tailed Mining Bee, Andrena haemorrhoa (Fabricius, 1781). Wellcome Open Research 8:392 (size, polylecty, Rosaceae and apple, nesting, distribution).
Buzz About Bees. Orange-tailed mining bee (Andrena haemorrhoa): nesting habit and the cuckoo Nomada ruficornis. buzzaboutbees.net.
NBN Atlas / GBIF Secretariat. Andrena haemorrhoa (Fabricius, 1781): taxonomy and UK distribution. nbnatlas.org; gbif.org.

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