Mining bee gathering

hundreds of these bees apparently meeting up to mate? Site was a low earthy bank, full of their mining works, next to a tennis court in SW London.
100L , natural light

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/yScN​G8

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ycCR​J9

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/yS8R​QR

interesting, nice set toby

Must have been quite the spectacle! Great set Toby

yes, presumed at first glance it was a Honey bee swarm.

Interesting find and shots !
Brian v.

What a great find - lovely pics of them.

Toby, aren't these the Ivy bee? Classic behaviour you saw according to BWARS. Not sure if you have seen the BWARS page about them so have put this in just in case:
http://www.bwars.com …s-hederae-mapping-project


Linda

i know the site but didn't feel confident to narrow down the species but that is a useful link thanks.

Well I never!

A swarm of solitary Bees!

Thats what I found odd, Mining bees normally keep to themselves. However this species evidently have a shortage of females!
From BWARS:

Also, you may notice large concentrations of this mining bee in soft, crumbly banks and cliffs. Males may be seen in frenzied mating clusters as they "mob" females emerging from their nests. So do check any suitable localities.

I have been on the lookout for them around here but not found any yet.

Don't know if you are interested in this too, but BWARS have a very active Group on FaceBook. IDs get done almost immediately. If there is one thing FB is good for it's the Groups ie BWARS, UK Hoverfly Recording Scheme, UK Dipterists, Amatuer Entemologists etc etc. Most of these entomology websites that we all use are using FB a lot now as they are getting a vast amount of information from photographers and enthusiasts this way - more so than their websites, so worth thinking about. I had a rare mining bee in my garden during the summer that was confirmed immediately on there so I put it on iRecord at their request (and a few more besides).

Linda

thanks for info but I have steered clear of social media so have to rely on websites like http://diptera.info/ne​ws.php for IDs

Love that lat frame Toby! Most likely trying to mate.

Wonderful find, unusual to see so many together like this.