There are only two species in the genus Halictus which occur in Ireland; the current species being the commoner of the two and indeed one of Ireland’s commonest solitary bees. It is a medium-sized bee (9-12mm); the females possessing a sparse, dull orange thoracic pile, a black abdomen with distinct pale bands and orange legs, which give this species its common name. The males resemble smaller, paler and more slender versions of the females, without the conspicuous orange hindlegs. It is one of the easier species of solitary bee to find as it flies from early spring to early autumn in a range of habitat types.

Distribution in Ireland: Widespread and common in Ireland; but still under-recorded.

Flight period: Females appear from late March-September, whilst males are active between June-August.

Habitat: A wide range of habitats are used, but especially brownfield land, woodland edges, parks and scrubby sites. South-facing banks are good places to find large nesting aggregations.

Flowers visited: Dandelion, hawkweeds, brambles, thistles, alkanet, willow blossom, Hawthorn, buttercups, clovers, geraniums and others.

Personal records: I have observed this species widely in counties Down and Antrim, as well as Tyrone, Armagh, Louth, Dublin, Carlow and Wicklow. It is one of the commonest solitary species of brownfield sites and south-facing banks in such localities can yield large nesting aggregations. It is worth searching any sheltered patches of bare soil for this species as it can be found in a very wide variety of habitats. It is the host of the Sphecodes gibbus which is much rarer than its host. It also appears to be a host for Sphecodes ephippius and S. monilicornis.