- Lifespan
- 6–8 weeks as adults; single generation per year
- Size & Weight
- 12–14 mm body length
- Habitat
- Gardens, parks, hedgerows, and rough ground with early spring flowers, particularly where there are suitable nesting sites in soft soil or south-facing banks.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout southern England, the Midlands, and Wales; range has expanded northwards in recent decades. Resident, with adults emerging in early spring (February–May).
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar and pollen from early spring flowers, particularly hellebores, currants, and crocuses.
- Predators
- Robber flies, some parasitic wasps (Chrysididae), and occasionally taken by birds such as flycatchers.
- Mating Season
- February to May
- Breeding
- Solitary bee; females dig individual burrows in soft soil or sand and lay single eggs in sealed cells provisioned with pollen and nectar. Single brood per year; larvae develop over several months, overwintering as pupae.
- Behaviour
- Males are highly territorial and aggressive, patrolling and hovering around flowers to intercept females. Females are rapid, efficient foragers and capable fliers. Males exhibit a distinctive hovering flight pattern while searching for mates. The species is one of the UK's earliest-emerging solitary bees.