Andrena, miserabilis, f, face, Maryland, P.G
Andrena, miserabilis, f, face, Maryland, P.G
We are finally getting around to some of the common bees of the region. This one is Andrena miserabilis. Why miserabilis for a name? Not sure, it is not a particularly miserable bee, it comes out early in the spring and can be found in almost any environment from backyard to Woodlands. It appears to have a fondness for maple pollen, particularly in our area red Maple. This may simply be due to the fact that if you come out early in the spring red Maple being may be the only abundant source of pollen. If you think about it, a tree is darned big and compared to some little tiny mustard plant is producing huge amounts of pollen and nectar, and therefore supporting, potentially, huge numbers of insects.
Beauty is nature's fact. - Emily Dickinson. Original public domain image from Flickr