ID pls for small bee with catfish look?

[Dillybythesea]

I'm sure I was reading a thread about small bees with hooks or pegs or something on their faces, but now I can't find it to look again at the pictures! But am wondering if this bee has something - and either way, is it possible to say what it is please? Thanks as ever for any help!

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Dilly,

That part in my opinion are the labial palps (under the jaw), which have something to do with controlling digestion I've just read. As for the species of bee, I don't think these will help much. Still, it's a good photo to show them!

Take care,

Jason

[Dillybythesea]

Afternoon Jason! I hoped you'd come by! I'm confused about the labial palps then. Do all bees have them and usually they don't show as much? I had a look at London insects and will go again and browse! But being down on the south coast I probably shldn't raise things with them shld I. ATB, Dill

[cockneysparrow1]

post your photo on ispot website and you will get a id there if you cant here ;-)

[JRsbugs]

It's a male Andrena sp., but not one I recognise. I do recognice those I have where I also have the females, take a good look around and see if you can get pics of females too.

At this time of year when many are just emerging you often see them near each other, at times you will first see a female, she will fly off then a male lands in more or less the same place.

Or you will get the parasite following! When I saw the first female Andrena nigroaenea of the year a few days ago, I also saw my first Bombylius major of the year following along after her.

Janet

[Dillybythesea]

Thanks Janet! I've just googled to see if I cld find the answer without having to ask you, but failed, so pls don't despair but... can you say if there's a common giveaway in telling males from females, or do I just watch for what seem to be couples?!

[Dillybythesea]

Me again Janet, having bucked up my ideas a bit! I see that males have protuberances towards the end of the abdomen, and the females don't. I just watched a queen disappear into the earth and am wondering if it cld be the female of the catfish, except I'd have thought she was Andrena flavipes on account of the yellow legs... ?

[JRsbugs]

Dill, males don't have the pollen basket hairs on the back legs, this isn't always so easy to see with very small bees which barely have any or none at all. With Andrena species it's relatively noticeable.

Males also are usually much smaller, and usually have narrower abdomens. If you can count the antenna segments males have an extra one with 13. They often have a very hairy face too but the hind legs should be the first thing to look at.

I'm not familiar with your bee, was it very small? It doesn't remind me of an Andrena sp. but more like Lasioglossum calceatum which is very small.

[Dillybythesea]

Thanks for getting back Janet! Clearly there's lots I didn't know about male bees. The catfish bee, like the queen I was watching too, wld've been only about 10mm I guess. Not quite as skinny as that Lasioglossum calceatum I wldn't have thought. But who knows! Is there somewhere to look up the size of all these smaller bees?

[JRsbugs]

Take a look at this pic of a female Lasioglossum calceatum.

Lasioglossum calceatum (Scopoli) (Slender Mining Bee)

I have it, and I had one which was confusing me as it looked a little different to the others, although I have only recently been seeing the females because I'm always out with the camera on good days.

There are others which look very similar, Halictus confusus for one, look at my thread here..

Halictus confusus?

They can be variable, and I know I have L. calceatum. Size must be 8mm I would think, I don't know where you can find the sizes.