Hey now! The bees are back in town

If you should go down to Railway Fields this week, take a good look at the white comfrey at the front of the hut and, chances are, you'll spot lots of female hairy footed flower bees doing their thing, assisted by a few gingery looking males. 

You might also see them on deadnettle (spotted many in Finsbury Park) and I've noticed lots of them on the clematis flowering in my garden. Hairy footed flower bees begin to fly in late February and will continue until mid-June. The female is black, although if you look close you'll see orange-red hairs on her hind legs. The male is very different, a gingery brown with cream markings on the face. They have a swift-darting flight ( one cross female got right in my face when I stood been her and the clematis).

You may also see at this time of year the pretty tawny mining bee, the female of which has a russet thorax and a golden tail. The first one I saw I rescued from the small pond in Lordship Wood where her passion with a male appeared to have landed her in hot water. After a moment or two to dry off, she flew off while the male staggered away ( to die as apparently after mating they no longer have a purpose).

The female was away to find a nice lawn or compacted piece of ground to begin digging. She'll lay her eggs and provide food and then she'll be off to start again. If you find nests in the lawn, leave them, they'll do no damage. Tawny mining bees don't sting and are useful pollinators. And they are very, very pretty.