Andrena gravida Imhoff, 1832
Distribution
Restricted to the south-eastern corner of England (East Sussex, Kent and Essex), where records have always been sporadic. Unconfirmed records exist for Hampshire and West Sussex.
Widespread and common in central and southern Europe.
Status (in Britain only)
Listed in Shirt (1987) and Falk (1991) as Endangered (RDB1). It has been included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species List.
Habitat
May be found in a variety of open habitats with a slight preference for clay-based or sandy soils, although these need not be acidic.
Flight period
Univoltine; April to May, although two males collected in Kent by J C Felton during July and August may represent a partial second generation.
Pollen collected
Widely polylectic, considered to be an important pollinator of apple crops in central Europe.
Nesting biology
May nest singly or in small aggregations in patches of bare, or sparsely vegetated soil exposed to the sun (M Edwards, pers. obs. in the Netherlands; Westrich 1989).
Flowers visited
Those of a wide range of plants, as long as the corollae are short.
Parasites
No parasites are known in Britain.
Year profile last updated
2002