This Andrena is a very widespread, spring-flying species. Females are very distinctive, with a bright, foxy-coloured covering of hairs on the thorax and a similarly-coloured tuft of hairs at the tip of the abdomen, which is otherwise almost completely hairless and shining black. In common with most other Andrena the males are much less distinctive. However, close examination with a hand lens will reveal a dark brown spot in the middle of the otherwise orange-brown hind tibia. The thorax in fresh examples is also covered in foxy-coloured hairs, but these are much less bright than those of the females.