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🐝 Ants, Bees & Wasps

Hairy-legged Mining Bee

Melitta tricincta

Near Threatened

About

A rare and declining bee that is a strict specialist on red bartsia flowers. It has distinctive hairy hind legs used for carrying the wet, sticky pollen of its host plant.

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Did You Know?

Its complete dependence on a single semi-parasitic plant species makes it one of the most ecologically specialized bees in Europe.