Hairy yellow-face bee ( Hylaeus hyalinatus)

I am assuming that this is the species! She nested inside a common yellow face bee (H. communis) nesting cavity. Looking at the BWARS site and Falk’s book ( links below) along with her two ‘shoulder epaulettes’, I took an educated guess.

Female foraging on Orange hawkweed

Similar nest to a common yellow face bee this female nested where the original owner had died inside the actual cavity. Not wishing to waste a suitable nest site this female made use of it, whilst the original owner’s body was still inside!

Read more about this bee on the BWARS site.

Solitary Bees by Ted Benton I highly recommend

Steven Falk’s Flickr page Hylaeus hyalinatus (Hairy yellow-face bee)

A Bit rusty or a novice about bee identification? I can recommend the book ‘Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland’ by Steven Falk by Steven Falk.

A beneficial and useful resource that supports this book by with a bee-dedicated website feature within Steve Falk’s Flickr website which furnishes extra photos and other valuable resources to assist with identification.