Photo: Line Sabroe / CC BY 2.0

Anthophora quadrimaculata

Four-spotted Flower Bee

A medium-sized flower bee (11–12 mm) with a uniformly brown-haired abdomen (without bands), a brown-haired thorax, and conspicuously greenish eyes. It is a generalist (polylectic) forager visiting flowers from at least 5 plant families, with a preference for Lamiaceae (dead-nettles, sage, catmint, woundworts). It nests in self-excavated burrows in steep loamy or sandy banks, loess walls, and mortar joints of old walls, often in small aggregations. It is univoltine, flying from May to September. In Switzerland it is moderately common in warm lowland areas, sand and clay pits, quarries, dry stone walls, vineyards, parks, and gardens. It is classified as near-threatened on the Swiss Red List. Its brood parasites are Thyreus orbatus and Coelioxys rufescens. Swiss Red List: Near Threatened (NT).