Halictus tumulorum (Female) Hayley Wood WT

While I have seen the male of this species in my garden I haven’t seen the female, If you would like to see the male which looks different then please click here 

A widespread species, from southern Britain north to the Central Highlands of Scotland. Also found in the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands. Widespread and common in the Palaearctic region.

Status (in Britain only)
This species is not regarded as being scarce or threatened.

Habitat
Found commonly on sandy and calcareous soils but scarcer on heavy clay. Prefers open habitat.

Flight period
Females are found from mid-March to October, with males appearing in late June or early July.

Pollen collected
The species is widely polylectic.

Nesting biology
This mining bee is thought to be primitively eusocial; early accounts of a solitary life cycle are now considered incorrect. Nests are excavated in horizontal ground which is usually sparsely vegetated or with a short sward. The burrow is vertical or nearly so, occasionally branched, with sessile cells opening off the main shaft of the nest. The foundress female constructs 6-9 horizontal cells off a short tunnel in the spring, of which 2 or 3 may produce males, the remainder producing workers. Many of these workers mate but do not undergo ovarian development. The second brood produces males and females which mate and then the latter hibernate. There are accounts of foundresses hibernating for a second winter.

Flowers visited
A wide range of flowers are visited for nectar.

Parasites
No Sphecodes are host specific on this bee… BWARS