Andrena prunorum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Andrena prunorum, otherwise known as the purple miner bee, is a species of solitary bees in the family Andrenidae. It is commonly found in the continental United States as well as much of North and Central America. Andrena prunorum is a spring-flying, ground-nesting bee that serves as a ubiquitous generalist in ecological settings. Both males and females live as prepupae in the winter in which they mate, and the females seek new sites for ground burrows. From there, they construct small cells surrounding a ball of pollen combined with nectar to nourish a laid egg before each cell is sealed, and the cycle begins anew. A. prunorum generally prefer the pollen derived from Rosaceae plants but will pollinate fruit trees if given the opportunity.
A. prunorum is commonly found in much of North and Central America. The Andrenidae family was found to be the second-most represented in British Columbia. This is compounded by the finding that about 70% of the solitary bee species in eastern Canada nest in the ground. However, these findings may be unreliable as Andrena is not readily identifiable, so the isolation of A. prunorum specifically has been a vexing challenge... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Prunus Miner Bee sighting in Seattle on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 80th most-seen of the 428 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Prunus Miner Bee in Seattle on a given day, against under 5% in August to March, the lowest months. Those are among Seattle's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 190 mm in November.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Prunus Miner Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Prunus Miner Bee sightings, Seattle has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Vancouver (Canada, under 5%) and Portland (United States, under 5%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Prunus Miner Bee that you can see in Seattle (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee (about 20%), Black-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Prunus Miner Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Seattle (78 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
