Bronze Furrow Bee

Halictus tumulorum

Date First Recorded in the Garden: 20/08/2023

Family Halictidae: The Furrow Bees

Contains several genus that occur in Great Britain, including the Halictus, Lasioglossum, Sphecodes, Rophites and Dufourea. For the species below we are of course concerned with the genus Halictus, of which there are around 300 species world wide and about 8 in Great Britain. ⁽¹⁾

Bronze Furrow Bee – Halictus tumulorum

A eusocial insect, which means a queen takes flight in the spring, mates and the first brood will all be worker females (sterile). Who will then raise another of the queens broods, this time of males and queens to begin the cycle again. They nest underground.

In the Garden

We’ve certainly not witnessed this species nesting in the Garden, but it has everything it requires here, so perhaps it does from time to time without us knowing. It is apparently not that fussy when it comes to flowers it likes to visit.

We did manage to get a short clip of our visitor, in which you can see the metallic colouration (more green than bronze in our view).

⁽¹⁾Falk, S. (2016) Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Bloomsbury Publishing plc.