Pantaloon Bee - Dasypoda hirtipes

With such a wonderful common name these bees must be hard pushed to live up to it. Luckily, they almost surpass their credentials in real life. A fairly large bee, she is scarce in the UK making it all the more exciting when you find one. Her face is brushed with golden yellow hairs which lightly adorn her thorax. A pied abdomen extends with subtle bands of white. However, her true glory is expressed in her trousers. Plumes of golden hairs extend from her hind legs as wonderful pantaloons. However, she is not one to brag about her beauty and dislikes the attention placed upon her. She will not flaunt from the entrance to her nest and instead darts quickly in and out, not wanting to draw glances. She lays her eggs in a hole she digs by herself in tightly packed sand in generally coastal environments.
The male is a showier creature but lacks the true beauty of the female. Undoubtedly handsome, he is covered in a golden pelt and spends his time flying low over the ground in the search for females. Not against showing off, he will occasionally sit on a leaf or branch lit by the full sun, something the shy female would never dream of.