Forest-bees
Guides
Andrena
Mining Bees, Mining Bee
Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, containing over 1,500 species of solitary ground-nesting bees. These bees are commonly called mining bees due to their habit of excavating burrows in soil to construct nests. The genus is nearly worldwide in distribution, absent only from Oceania and South America, and is most diverse in temperate regions with Mediterranean climates. Andrena species are important pollinators, with many exhibiting specialized relationships with particular host plants.