A Mining Bee volcano spoil heap

A trip to Emsworthy Mire is always a good day, even when the weather isn’t nice.

Today it’s lovely weather and the view of the barn sheltered by trees is charming. Underfoot I notice a perfect hole in the ground. It’s the sign of a solitary bee, a Mining Bee. There are 65 species of Mining Bee in Britain. They’re all in the genus Andrena.

I’d love to know which one this is. The Tawny Mining Bee perhaps? Or maybe the Ashy Mining Bee? Or perhaps it’s the Ivy Mining Bee? At the moment all I have to go on is a hole in the ground.