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Wool Carder Bee

Anthidium manicatum

Basic Information

Common name: Wool Carder Bee
Scientific name: Anthidium manicatum

Big, black bee with yellow dots.

Territorial males patrol flower patches.

Classification

Bee TypeSolitary
StatusLess Common
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionLocalised
Tail ColourBlack/yellow Tail

Keynotes

  • Big bees, males bigger than females

  • Unusually, females emerge first

  • Sometimes the yellow spots look rectangular

  • Territorial males hover, dive, head-butt and use tail spines when fighting

  • Females fly with balls of fibres in mandibles

Nest Information

  • Pre-existing holes in walls, wood, hollow stems, bee hotels

  • Females gather hairs from furry plants to make nest cells

  • May - August

Distribution

  • Frequent England, less frequent moving northwards, south coast Wales, scarce Scotland.

  • Habitat: gardens, parks, heaths, open woodland, wetlands, brownfield

Castes

MALE

May
No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Black, yellow, pale hair

  2. Black

  3. Black, yellow side dots

  4. Short spines

  5. Yellow patches on legs

Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:Black, yellow
Head:Yellow Head, Black, yellow, Black Head

FEMALE

May
No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Black, yellow

  2. Black

  3. Black, yellow side dots

  4. Black, yellow

  5. Yellow patches on legs

Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:Black, yellow
Head:Black, yellow, Black Head

Flower Preferences

Long tongue.

  • kidney vetch

  • purple toadflax

  • greater mullein

  • lavender

  • yarrow

  • dead-nettles

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Black horehound

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Lamb's ear

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Woundwort