The Spring Colletes bee is occasionally parasitized by a cuckoo bee, the blood bee Sphecodes albilabris. This bee lays its egg like a cuckoo in the finished nest cell of the Spring Colletes bee. The blood bee larva then kills the silk bee larva and feeds on the food supply stored there.
What do Spring Mining Bees look like?
The Spring Mining Bee is 13 to 15 millimetres long and has furry, golden-brown hair. There are faint transverse bands on its abdomen. Its body shape and colour resemble those of the honeybee, but the females are slightly larger.
Flight time
March to May. One generation per year.
Food preferences
The spring mining bee is a willow specialist. It feeds on hardly any other plants. In technical jargon, such a strictly specialized diet is called oligophagy (oligolektie).
Flight time
March to May. One generation per year.
Food preferences
The spring mining bee is a willow specialist. It feeds on hardly any other plants. In technical jargon, such a strictly specialized diet is called oligophagy (oligolektie).
How do spring mining bees nest?
After mating, female spring mining bees dig their nests in loose sandy soil, such as in riverine lowlands or sand pits. The nests consist of a main tunnel from which three to six side tunnels branch off, where the brood cells are laid. To protect the nests, the mining bee secretes substances that harden into a waterproof, silk-like protective layer. This is also where the genus name "mining bee" (Seidenbiene, lit. silk bee) comes from. Under favourable conditions, the nests are built in large colonies. Unlike honey bees, these animals do not cooperate, but merely tolerate each other as neighbours.