To Bee or Not to Bee

Sorry folks - couldn't resist that. The thing is have I snapped a bee or a wasp? Looking round the net there are two choices and unfortunately they both look identical to this subject.

I was wandering in the grounds of the Wagon and Horses waiting for my lunch companion to arrive so decided to idle the time photographing some of the flowers when I spotted a few flying insects. At first I thought they were some sort of hover fly and then decided they were wasps. Long, thin with long legs hanging while in flight. Very shy as most often they flew away when I tried to get the Nikon close up. The ground in that area was dotted with small round holes. These are all clues to help identify this beasty:



It does look very much like a paper wasp I found on the net - but - it is also the spitting image of Nomada goodeniana - a true bee which lays its eggs in the nest of Andrena ground nesting bees. See A Nature Observer's Scrapbook, third bee down. One thing I am sure of - I have never seen any of these at home or around our village, not yet anyway.

A further trawl through the net has convinced me it is a Nomada bee. They can be found over much of England though most seem to be spotted in the South and many in the East Midlands ( my part of the country).