Description

Body length 8.5 - 12mm. Similar to A. gazella but with less yellow on the abdomen. The male has a yellow face and bent tips to its antennae. The female has reddish legs.

Habitat

Found in a wide range of habitats from moorland to marshland, woodland to sand dunes. The female makes her clay-lined cells in gaps behind rocks, in tree bark, hollow stems or other small apertures and provisions them with small caterpillars or small beetle larvae.

Status and distribution

Widespread but thinly distributed throughout Britain with a strong coastal bias. Uncommon in Nottinghamshire and recorded once at Netherfield Lagoons.

Best time to see

June to August.