What to look for: Look for a bee with distinctive yellow dots along its abdomen. Males will have prongs coming from their rear
Favourite plants: Wildflowers and bedding flowers
Making a nest: These bees nest in loose soil underground and in cliffs
When active: Spring to summer
Where seen: Across the UK
Wool Carder Bee
Wool carder bees are unmistakable with their distinctive bright yellow colouring that runs along its abdomen. Males and females are similarly coloured. However, the fiercely territorial males are larger and have short spines across their backs.
These solitary bees nest underground in burrows in loose sandy soil or in cliffs close to their favourite flowers. As with many solitary bee species, wool carder bees accidentally pick up and carry pollen on hairs on the underside of their abdomens. The pollen is then delivered to another flower in a process called pollination.