Very rarely encountered and confined to scattered sites in southern England. Females are often locally abundant if a nest has been located. The apparent rarity of this species may be partly explained by the habits of both sexes. Females have very localised nest sites and, on leaving, they seem to fly high up to forage in the canopy of oaks (the flowering period of this tree is also very short). Males too visit the flowers of trees and shrubs for nectar. The species is similarly rare on the continent (e.g. Westrich, 1989), with records from The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, northern Italy, the Czech Republic, Bosnia, Crimea and the Carpathian Basin (see Leys, 1978).