mining bee

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Read Next

Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) photographed in the Midwest in 2017. endangered species insect pollination

What Would Happen If All the Bees Died?

Incredible Facts About Bees

Blue banded bee (Amegilla) flying near a flower, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. (insects, bees)

8 Buzzworthy Types of Bees

Honeybee's landing moment. Honeybee, wings still in motion, lands on a white flower. Bees, pollination

Why Do Bees Buzz?

What’s the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp?

Discover

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics

10 Best Hockey Players of All Time

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden

7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and autodidact.

6 Interesting Facts about Srinivasa Ramanujan

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

mining bee

insect family

Also known as: Andrenidae, digger bee, solitary bee

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also called:: digger bee, or solitary bee

Related Topics:: bee; Andrena

See all related content

mining bee, (family Andrenidae), any of a group of bees (order Hymenoptera), particularly the genus Andrena. Many species are medium-sized bees with reddish-golden hair and long, prominent abdomens. Females excavate tunnels in the soil that branch off to individual cells that the female stocks with pollen balls and nectar, on which she lays her eggs. There may be one or two generations per year. The adult has a relatively short and pointed “tongue,” unsuitable for general foraging but, within each species, adapted to nectar-gathering from certain types of flowers.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.