This is a large and rather striking mining bee with a bright red abdomen. The thoracic pile is short (semi-squamous), in contrast to the otherwise similar Andrena parata, which has an extremely short, completely squamous thoracic pile. Males have a brownish abdomen and pale orange body hairs. Both sexes possess pale buffish abdominal bands, especially when fresh. This species is endemic to Spain.

Distribution: Endemic to Spain, where it exists in the eastern half of the country from Malaga in the south, around the coast to Barcelona in the north. It doesn’t seem to occur more than 100km inland from the coastline.

Flight Period: Flies in a single generation between late March and June.

Habitat: Prefers drier, arid habitats including maquis, garrigue and rocky grassland with plentiful Echium. 

Flowers Visited: Both sexes will visit flowers of Echium, which appears to be the main source of pollen for the females. Females have been observed collecting pollen from Ornithogalum and males have been observed visiting Phagnalon saxatile.

Personal Records: I have observed this species in the Sierra de Gador mountains in southeastern Spain, where a female was visiting flowers of Ornithogalum in a brownfield site.