Summer Mining Bees

In Vermont, Mining Bee diversity is at its lowest mid-summer. From late-June through early August, very few Mining Bees are likely to be encountered, with the exception of the introduced Wilke's Mining Bee.

Genus level ID: See the Mining Bee page for tips on separating other genera. In particular, compare the larger Furrow Bees (and similar Lasioglossum) as they are superficially similar to Wilke’s Mining Bee (and Mining Bees).

The species below represent the spectrum of Mining Bee species likely to be encountered during the height of summer, in rough order of abundance and distinctiveness. Click each box for more details on a given species.

Wilke's Mining Bee (Andrena wilkella)

Dogwood

Milwaukee Mining Bee (Andrena milwaukeensis)

Dwarf-dandelion Mining Bee (Andrena krigiana)

Thought to be a Dwarf-Dandelion specialist, the two VT records are both at least a hundred miles north of the known range of Dwarf-Dandelions. Image Courtesy USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab

Virginia Mining Bee (Andrena virginiana)

Vermont records for this late summer bee are few and far between. Seems to have a strong preference for Spirea and be limited to the Champlain Valley. Image courtesy Micheal Veit

Unless otherwise specified, photos are courtesy of Margarita Miklasevskaja at PCYU with funding from NSERC-CANPOLIN. Specialization data primarily from https://jarrodfowler.com/bees_pollen.html

The table below is a complete list (as of February 2021) of all Mining Bee species confirmed for Vermont. Links (where present) will take you to individual species pages with natural history notes, identification tips, and a map.

All Vermont Mining Bees

Please note that many of our datasets have not been published yet, so the maps are incomplete.