About Andrena wilkella (Kirby, 1802)
Andrena wilkella, commonly called Wilke's mining bee, is a species of miner bee belonging to the family Andrenidae. It was originally native to Europe, and was accidentally introduced to North America long ago, potentially via ship ballast. This bee species is active from April through August. Wilke's mining bees have been recorded nesting both individually alone and in large collective aggregations. A. wilkella preferentially collects pollen from plants in the Fabaceae family, including clover and sweet clover. Females of this species reach a body length of 10 to 12 millimeters, while males measure 9 to 11 millimeters in body length.
