Andrena dunningi, F, side, MD, Harford County
Andrena dunningi.
A large dark Andrena. This lovely female, in fresh plumage, is relatively easy to identify simply by the orange brown color of its body hairs along with the nearly black hairs located on its hind legs which it uses to carry pollen to its nest. However, after it's been out in the sun for several weeks it can also turn the same off-white coloration that most of the other Andrena bees have in this group. This is a bee of tree flowers. In particular, it favors Willows, but can be found on a wide variety of spring blooming woody plants, though seemingly avoiding the heath family, which has its own specialists. This bee was photographed by Sue Boo and collected in Harford County Maryland.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all
Ye know on earth and all ye need to know
" Ode on a Grecian Urn"
John Keats. Original public domain image from Flickr