The Aurora appeared briefly last night and I just managed to capture a glimpse, still amazed to see this over Surrey 😀

Hoping that this is a Blackthorn Mining Bee, Andrena varians, seen in Surrey yesterday, rare for Surrey? Steven Falk Brigit Strawbridge

Varians' bigger sister the lovely Andrena lapponica, feasting on our local Hurtwood flowers, one I really wanted to see this year 🙂

Surrey's orchid season has started 😀 Wild Orchids UK & Ireland

Andrena haemorrhoa in good numbers this year, lovely colourful solitary bee 🙂

Plenty of nomads out and about, cunning if not sneaky cuckoo bees 😯

Plenty of these lovely Early Mining Bees - Andrena haemorrhoa, flying at the moment, orange tails so even I can identify them 😂

A striking solitary wasp at the entrance to its nest, Odynerus melanocephalus, Surrey North Downs 🙂 Steven Falk

Its world bee day apparently, so what better excuse to post a photo of one of our most beautiful mining bees: Osmia aurulenta, gold fringed Mason bee, makes its nest in an empty snail shell, amazing, recent photo. Steven Falk

Amazed to see regular males and one female, shown here, visiting my garden meadow cranesbill for nectar, hope they are finding pollen nearby, bit early for bellflowers, Melitta haemorrhoidalis, is it out early Steven Falk?

Lovely male Melitta haemorrhoidalis on my garden cranes bill flower 😊 Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

Very excited to find my first Wool Carder Bee, having a rest before resuming its terrorist behavior 😂 Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

The local heather has started to flower and so, with impeccable timing, the lovely Heather Mining Bee is out, Andrena fuscipes 🙂 Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

Leafcutter bees are amazing, the females mostly have a brightly coloured pollen brush under the abdomen as with this lovely Patchwork Leafcutter Bee 🙂 Steven Falk Brigit Strawbridge

I could watch these characters all day long 😀 Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

One for you Chris Hazell, a pair of Bee Grabbers, Sicus ferrugineus.

Delighted to find the lovely, but deadly, Henbane recently, a chalk downland specialist, approach with caution 😱

Great to find Andrena hattorfiana today enjoying a good scabious year over Surrey chalk downland Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

A great combination of a Median Wasp checking out a lovely Narrow Lipped Helleborine 😊 Brigit Strawbridge Steven Falk

Inspired by Brigit Strawbridge great talk including a fascinating insight of the Yellow Lousestrife Bee, I visited my local wet meadow and to my great delight found some young Lousestrife plants and a rather fresh male who posed very nicely for me,  Macropis europae 🙂 Steven Falk