In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
small bumble-bees but good at hovering.

I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
by Global Warming?!)

Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
would be a shame if they are rare.

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article , Rodney Blackall 
 writes
>
>In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
>windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth. Thursday
>morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced holes being
>excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark and hairy like
>small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
>I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects; there is
>a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the plate that is
>supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African mining bees driven out
>by Global Warming?!)
>
>Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them - which
>would be a shame if they are rare.
>
There are plenty of species of so-called(1) solitary bees in the UK, 
several of which fit your description!

Have a look at the mining bees at:

http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

(1) They're "solitary" in that each bee makes its own nest, but, as in 
your case, they are actually colonial in that lots of them breed in the 
same small area.

-- 
Malcolm

Rodney Blackall wrote:
> In Buckingham town centre there are some flats whose ground level
> windows open onto large "window troughs" filled with bare earth.
> Thursday morning this earth was pocked with fairly evenly spaced
> holes being excavated by lots of busy bees. They were uniformly dark
> and hairy like small bumble-bees but good at hovering.
>
> I can find nothing like them in my field guide to British insects;
> there is a description that seems to fit their behaviour but the
> plate that is supposed to show them does not. Any guesses (African
> mining bees driven out by Global Warming?!)
>
> Sometime soon they will be noticed and moves taken to eradicate them
> - which would be a shame if they are rare.

You could ask the helpful people at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwars/

Since they are evidently solitary in habit they are not going to band 
together to defend the "colony" and thus are no threat to anyone.

Mike.
-- 
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j

In article ,
   Malcolm  wrote:

[Snip]

> Have a look at the mining bees at:

> http://www.bwars.com/Gallery.htm

What a lot to choose from!
TENTATIVELY "andrena pilipes" comes nearest (the only uniformly dark one in
that family). I shall try so more when time permits.

Thanks

-- 
Rodney Blackall (retired meteorologist)(BSc, FRMetS, MRI)
Buckingham, ENGLAND
Using Acorn SA-RPC, OS 4.02 with ANT INS and Pluto 3.03j