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Pantaloon Bee Dasypoda hirtipes

Reaching a length of 13 to 15 mm the Pantaloon Bee is a rather big species. In Western Europe it is the only representative of this genus. Females are extremely easy to identify: on the hind legs there is a plume of long, golden hairs used to collect pollen. The males lack these plumes, but they are covered in brownish of greyish hairs. The legs of the males are thin and long compared to the legs of most other bees. Males can be seen feeding all day long, but females appear to have gone in the (early) afternoon. During this time they build their underground nests and do not feed. Foodplants are Asteraceae exclusively, such as Common Ragwort and Creeping Thistle.

Females of the Pantaloon Bee excavate their nest in sandy soils, often at the side of paths or under pavement. Even though these are solitary bees they like to nest groupwise. Such a group may consist of hundreds of animals. The females first dig the main burrough, which may be 80 centimeters deep. Then they dig side burroughs in which the eggs are deposited, each in its own cell. The adults are seen from late June to the beginning of September.

The Pantaloon Bee is common throughout Europe, North Africa (including Egypt). Eastwards in Ukraine, Turkey and Armenia. In the UK a common species in the South: England and Wales as far north as Norfolk.