Burgundy coloured bee???

Wingy

Well-Known Member
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Saw this on the lawn today looks like a bee of some description but I've never seen any this colour. Not sure how clear it is in the photo but the head was almost jet black, thorax a vivid burgundy & abdomen orange, black & red stripes. I've googled all sorts of bees & wasps but can't find anything to identify it. So when google fails it's out to the great SD for info. Any idea what it is?
wingy
 
Funnily enough, ive never seen one of these until last week, since then ive seen 3. One of the ones i saw disappeared down a perfectly made hole in the border, about 1/4'' diameter. Ive been told it some sort of bumble bee..?
 
Funnily enough, ive never seen one of these until last week, since then ive seen 3. One of the ones i saw disappeared down a perfectly made hole in the border, about 1/4'' diameter. Ive been told it some sort of bumble bee..?

Funny enough this seemed to be looking for a little hole in the lawn (like what wasps make) which I had just gone over with the mower
 
No doubt it is a Solitary Bee ,this one is a Mining Bee, other solitary bees include Masonary Bees and Carpenter Bees,they do not sting ,as the sting cannot penetrate human skin. Most polinate early flowering plants so we need them.They will burrow in the ground or into the soft mortar of buildings or rotting wood always found on sunny facing places.They lay an egg or eggs in the hole they have made, put some pollen or some species will put dead spiders or flies next to the egg and seal the hole with wax,the sun does the rest.
There you go some of us are full of useless imformation.Wf1
 
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