They are between 8 and 10 millimetres in size, hairs are longer and whitish except for the bright orange-red belly brush on the head shield and back, legs are short-haired, abdomen is sometimes with a metallic blue or green sheen, males have green eyes.

These solitary bees are widespread but rare. They are oligolectic, pollen specialists which are restricted to one plant genus or plant family. They pollinate the varieties of flowers as described further down on this page. The flight time of the species in Central Europe is from May to August. Food supply should not be too far away from their nests, that means a pollination radius of up to 1 km. Choice of nest: existing tunnels in dry wood and in hollow plant stems. They use chewed leaves as plant mortar for building material in the brood cells.

The Orange-vented Mason Bee harbours cuckoo bees, the Plain Dark Bee Stelis phaeoptera and the Banded Dark Bee, Stelis punctulatissima, which are endangered and rare. The best way to help cuckoo bees is to support their host bees and their habitats. Cuckoo bees are brood parasitic in the nests of pollen-collecting bees. Other parasites are species of the solitary Sapygid wasp Sapyga quinquepunctata and the Yellow-spotted Sapyga, Sapyga clavicornis.

Klosterstrasse corner Salzachstrasse, (at the Mitfahrbankerl) Scheuerhof, Raitenhaslach, Burghausen, Upper Bavaria, Germany DMS Coordinates 48º08’11.08″ N 12º47’26.84″ E.

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