Nomada ferruginata (Linnaeus, 1767) Yellow-shouldered Nomad Bee.
Family: Apidae,
Female Length: 7 to 9mm Male length: 6 to 8mm.
Flight season: late March till mid-May.
Nomad bees are parasitic, their larva feeding on the Andrea species of bee and have a wasp like appearance.
Nomada ferruginata is a rare species of Nomad bee and is scarcer than their host. (Andrena praecox) Populations are mostly widespread, scattered in the southern parts of Britain and in central and northern parts of Europe.
In the early part of the season, they will be seen mainly flying close to the ground, searching for a host’s nest. The male Nomada ferruginata assists the female, by helping her to locate a host’s nest site. When found he will give off a scent, similar to the female host’s scent, this then attracts the female Nomad bee to the nest site. When a host’s nest site is found and by following similar traits to a cuckoo bee, she will deposit her eggs in the nest, doing this while the host female bee is absent. (The host female bee is probably collecting, pollen and nectar for her own larva). The Nomada bee larva will eventually kill the host’s eggs and larva, then until pupation they will continue to feed on the pollen and nectar intended for the host’s own young.
For feeding, they mainly rely on the pussy-willow blossom for pollen, so their numbers will peak during this period.
Habitat: Mainly where their host bee, Andrea praecox is found; low overgrown vegetation, also anywhere you would find pussy-willow growing, in deciduous woodland, along woodland edges, heathland and coastal sites.
Main Flower’s visited: Dandelions, Sallow, Lesser Celandine, Blackcurrant, Grey and Goat Willow.
Nomad Bees are considered poor pollinators, as they are mostly hairless and they lack a pollen-carrying scopa (a tuft of hairs where the pollen collects on the leg of a bee).
The name “Nomada” comes from the Greek word “Nomas”; meaning “wandering” or “roaming”.
Below are images of the female.