Anthophora is one of the first bees that I see in my yard each spring. As soon as the golden currant begins to bloom, they are there. They also like the red currant, which flowers at about the same time. In fact, they seem to completely dominate these two plants. I rarely see any other bees on them.
My earliest iNat observation so far was April 10 and my latest was on May 8. They seem to be present in my yard only in the early spring. Maybe they go someplace else when the currants stop blooming.
Anthophora nest in the ground, often in communal nests, with several females sharing the same nest entrance. I haven't yet seen any nests in the yard, but they've got to be around, since there are so many visiting the currants.
There are about 70 species of Anthophora in the US. Most are similar in appearance and hard to ID from photos alone.
Another, smaller, species is abundant in the late summer. It's common name is Urbane Digger Bee (Anthophora urbana). It, like the larger spring digger bees, also is quite feisty, and is dominates the small asters in the garden.
A new species arrived, also at the golden currant, on April 24, 2022. It's been tentatively IDed as Anthophora pacifica (Pacific Digger Bee) by John Ascher. So I'm adding it to the yard list.
