Mining bees...(Andrena sp.) (??) Several colonies of varying sizes are observed at this location each year. The larger colonies are quite impressive sometimes covering a 50 ft. x 50 ft. or larger areas and containing thousands of individuals. The males hover an inch or so above the ground anxiously waiting for the females to emerge from their underground burrows to mate. The bees generally convene for mating around mid-April and wrap up their birds and bees business by mid-May.