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This is a large (15 mm) female Andrena found feeding on farkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum) growing near a wooded area north of Gainesville. The remarkable things about this bee are its size, black wings and intensely orange color. Its legs (except for the coxae and trochanters) are orange-red, and bright orange hairs cover much of the head, thorax and legs. This female was found together with the male bee shown here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207778469

I have seen this species in three different locations of Alachua County during April 2014. The University of Florida bee key notes that Andrena obscuripennis has been found previously in Alachua County: the Bee Library records specimens at the University of Florida from Alachua Co. dated 1995-1997, and 1949. (See https://library.big-bee.net/portal/collections/list.php?usethes=1&taxa=4966). Bouseman & LaBerge (1978) wrote that Andrena obscuripennis was initially known only from Georgia and North Carolina, but noted that Mitchell (1960) provisionally included New Jersey and Louisiana in its range. The species has since been documented in places as widely dispersed as Mississippi, Missouri and Ontario.

This female keys to Andrena gardineri in Mitchell (1960) and LaBerge (1967); also, to Callandrena in LaBerge (1985)’s subgeneric key. A tad early for this bee, but iNaturalist observations at this site show Packera is well into bloom by now.

Selection of initial characters in Discoverlife also leads to A. gardineri, A. hirticincta, A. rubi, and A. rudbeckiae; it cannot be the latter 3 for numerous reasons, especially the flight season and facial characters.

I attempted to photograph the bidentate labral process, hyaline tergal rims, among other key cool features of this bee.

Population was briefly monitored over several weeks while conducting another pollinator study in the habitat. Oak pollen isn't considered nutritious in most literature, but must be useful to some degree. As the Quercus inopina pollen became available, there was stiff competition between females for the best catkins on the tree. Resources are limited at this site, which was xeric scrub.

Visiting Persicaria along the margin of a small lake.

I suspect this is the correct identification, but hope someone will correct or verify.

This or another individual was seen about 5 minutes before this sighting at a nearby stretch of the same lake shore; see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195196320.