Tag Archives: Andrena

Andrena is the scientific name for the mining bee. It is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee families.

Andrena mining bees in lawns

Some species of mining bees make their nests in lawn in the spring. They can be seen as they create small mounds of soil on lawns with a hole in the top. These are their nests which are the entrance to tunnels in the ground where they lay their eggs.

Find out more about mining bees including how to spot them in these blog posts.

The mining bee and your lawn

The entrance to a mining bee nest

I have been seeing a lot of mining bee nests recently (Andrena sp.). It seems the hot early spring weather has set them into a nest building frenzy! These beautiful little bees build themselves curious structures that look like miniature volcanoes. They are usually around 5cm high, made of bits of soil, usually with a hole around 4mm… Read More »