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Andrena clarkella
One of the earliest flying mining bees out here. Also a willow specialist. Images show both males and females . This species has a large nest - aggregation in Sint Joris which I follow onw for about 3 years. The nests are at the foot of a Salix caprea. The male in the image is sun-bathing , warming up for the action. Males emerge first and await the females which they try to copulate with. Fresh emerging females first have to dig themselves outside their hole and then have to face a group of far to active and opposing males ....
3 Comments
Excellent spotting Henk - thanks for sharing this.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Excellent series; especially like the last photo! Could you please add the environment in which you saw them in the habitat section?