Mining bees
Andrena spp.
Bee
Genus-level entry for the solitary, ground-nesting mining bees - one of the largest bee genera in North America, with several hundred species on the continent. They are among the earliest bees to emerge in spring, often flying while temperatures are still cold, which makes them key pollinators of early-blooming willows, maples, and fruit trees (apple, cherry, plum, pear) before most other bees are active. Females excavate underground nest tunnels in well-drained soil, frequently in dense aggregations, and provision each cell with pollen and nectar. Many Andrena are generalists, but the genus includes pollen specialists such as the spring beauty miner (Andrena erigeniae), which collects pollen only from Claytonia virginica.
Conservation
The genus as a whole is large and not assessed as imperiled, but most individual Andrena species lack formal conservation assessments, and narrow pollen specialists can be locally vulnerable where their host plants decline. No genus-wide IUCN or Xerces Society Red List status applies; do not read 'mining bees' as a single conservation unit.
Plan for this species
Location-fit plant set for Chicago, IL: host and specialist plants first, then nectar, fruit, seed, foliage, and shelter plants that still fit the current and mid-century climate read.
0 essential relationships / 6 supporting plants
Host/specialist links: 0
Forage/pollination links: 6
Shelter links: 0
Relationship roles: 3
Mapleleaf viburnum
Supporting / Plants this species pollinates
Wikipedia names Andrenidae among the pollinators of this species. Andrena are spring-active ground-nesting bees whose flight period lines up with a late-spring viburnum bloom, and an open shallow cyme is precisely the flower they work. Documented at family level rather than species level, which is why the relationship is wired to the mining-bee group entry rather than to a named bee.
Bigroot geranium
Supporting / Nectar plants
Early-emerging solitary mining bees (Andrena) on the wing in late spring overlap the bloom and take nectar from the open flowers; this is opportunistic generalist foraging rather than a specialist tie.
Common primrose
Supporting / Nectar plants
Early solitary mining bees work the flowers for nectar, an important resource at the very start of the season.
Blue-stemmed goldenrod
Supporting / Pollen plants
Supports specialized (oligolectic) bees; goldenrods (Solidago) host a large guild of specialist bees at the genus level (NC State Extension; Wikipedia).
New York aster
Supporting / Pollen plants
Supports seven specialized (oligolectic) Andrena mining-bee species that collect aster pollen (NC State Extension).
White heath aster
Supporting / Pollen plants
Supports seven specialized (oligolectic) Andrena mining-bee species, plus the specialist cellophane bee Colletes simulans, that collect aster pollen (NC State Extension).
Plants in the catalog
Plants this species pollinates · 1
Wikipedia names Andrenidae among the pollinators of this species. Andrena are spring-active ground-nesting bees whose flight period lines up with a late-spring viburnum bloom, and an open shallow cyme is precisely the flower they work. Documented at family level rather than species level, which is why the relationship is wired to the mining-bee group entry rather than to a named bee.
Nectar plants · 3
Solitary mining bees and other small bees forage nectar on the flowers, drawn by the abundant, long-lasting bloom on a warm, sheltered site.
Early-emerging solitary mining bees (Andrena) on the wing in late spring overlap the bloom and take nectar from the open flowers; this is opportunistic generalist foraging rather than a specialist tie.
Early solitary mining bees work the flowers for nectar, an important resource at the very start of the season.
Pollen plants · 42
Supports specialized (oligolectic) bees; goldenrods (Solidago) host a large guild of specialist bees at the genus level (NC State Extension; Wikipedia).
Supports seven specialized (oligolectic) Andrena mining-bee species that collect aster pollen (NC State Extension).
Supports seven specialized (oligolectic) Andrena mining-bee species, plus the specialist cellophane bee Colletes simulans, that collect aster pollen (NC State Extension).
Spring-emerging solitary mining bees are plausible visitors to the early flower spikes.
Solitary mining bees plausibly forage pollen from the shallow, exposed early-summer flowers.
NC State Extension notes the spring flowers attract bees and names native Andrena mining bees among the specialist visitors; Plotwright carries them at genus-group level, so the row is documented for pollen forage without claiming every mining bee specializes on violets.
Solitary mining bees collect pollen from the wide-open, pollen-rich flowers; like other bees they come for pollen rather than nectar, which this poppy barely provides.
Early-emerging solitary mining bees (Andrena) are well suited to visit the very early bloom for pollen.
Spring-flying mining bees (Andrena) are among the many early bees that gather dandelion pollen and nectar during its late-winter-to-spring bloom.
Early-emerging solitary mining bees (Andrena) visit open spring composites like the lawn daisy for pollen; the low, accessible flowers fit their spring foraging window.
Spring-flying solitary mining bees plausibly forage the accessible open flowers; inferred from flower form and bloom timing rather than a single named record.
Spring-flying solitary mining bees (Andrena) forage the accessible, open flowers; plausible from the flower form and bloom timing rather than a single named record.
Early-emerging ground-nesting mining bees forage the bare-twig blooms for pollen during their short spring flight.
Solitary mining bees work the densely packed florets of the blue globes for pollen and nectar alongside honey bees during the summer bloom.
Spring-emerging mining bees (Andrena) forage on the early flowers for pollen and nectar where ranges overlap; grape hyacinth is widely planted partly for this early-season bee value.
Andrena species are spring-active ground-nesting bees whose flight period coincides closely with a late-May dogwood bloom, and they are recognised visitors to shrub dogwoods generally. Recorded as plausible on the same basis as the sweat bees: the flower shape and the timing fit, but no source consulted for this record names Andrena on Cornus racemosa. Small carpenter bees (Ceratina) belong in the same sentence and have no entry in this wildlife catalog, so they are named here rather than wired as a relationship.
Early-emerging solitary mining bees (Andrena) work the accessible spring flowers for pollen; recorded as plausible rather than documented.
Range
Native and widespread across North America, with the greatest diversity in temperate regions; hundreds of species occur from Canada through the United States and into Mexico.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Mining bees (Andrena spp.). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/mining-bees
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Wikipedia: Andrena
Genus reference for Andrena diversity, ground-nesting lifecycle, solitary/aggregated nesting, temperate distribution, host-plant specialists, and the genus-level status caveat.
GBIF: Andrena
GBIF backbone entry for the genus Andrena, corroborating genus-level taxonomy and its wide temperate occurrence range.
iNaturalist: Andrena
iNaturalist genus taxon page for Andrena, corroborating genus identity and observed North American range.
Xerces Society: Mining bees (Andrena) profile
Xerces Society Red List profile of a single Andrena mining bee documenting genus-typical ground-nesting biology and a species-level conservation assessment.