What bee is it?

[pelugia]

Several bees seen at RSPB Rainham feeding on black mustard. Differing ids from black honey bee to melecta albifrons to andrena pilipes. Can anyone provide a definitive id please?

[JRsbugs]

Difficult one! We have an expert but I haven't seen him around lately, eucera.

As much as I would be tempted to opt for Melecta albifrons, due to the shape and general appearance, I think it's more likely to be Andrena pillipes.

My reasoning for this is those long white hairs on the hind leg, which are the 'pollen baskets'.

M. albifrons appears to have no real amount of white hair on the pollen basket, where Andrena pillipes does.

Janet

[eucera]

A. pilipes or A. nigrospina. Females seem to be inseparable morphologically but the males can be done using genitalia and some other very subtle characters.