Bug FAQWilke's Mining Bee
Andrena wilkella · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Andrenidae
Also called: Andrenine Bee, European Legume Mining Bee
Females are about 10 to 12 mm long and males 9 to 11 mm. They nest alone or in groups and are found across Europe. Adults are active from April through August and collect pollen mainly from clover and sweet clover.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females measure 10 to 12 mm and males 9 to 11 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They may nest singly or in aggregations.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They preferentially gather pollen from Fabaceae such as clover and sweet clover.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from April to August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their original distribution is Europe.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Andrenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrena_wilkella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.