Can you ID my bee?

[beebeebeeb]

We have discovered a hive living in an unused pipe outside our back door.

This one doesn't look like a standard honey bee to me.

Could it be a black bee? The others look fairly similar although smaller, but dont stay still long enough for a photo!

can't see it in my bee id book, will look somewhere else.

is this it
www.bbowt.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/bees-and-wasps/patchwork-leaf-cutter-bee

Thanks @happyhammy, I don't think so as they come back with pollen on their legs rather than pieces of leaves!

They do look fairly similar though.

I can't help but I love bees! I had some solitary bees living in our big hotel last summer, and whenever I gardening they would come and buzz around me, inspecting what I was doing. I really enjoyed my little garden inspectors.

Doesn’t look like a bee to me. The eyes are more like a hover fly. There’s a bazillion different types and lots of them mimic bees, wasps, hornets etc.

I didn’t think they lived in hives though?

Looks like a Franco to me op!!
Not sure of variety though!!

It looks like a drone fly, possibly Eristalis arbustorum, but difficult to be certain.

Bot fly?

I think it looks like a bot fly!

Thank you all!

I agree it looks most like Eristalis arbustorum. I've been watching the hive this afternoon and I think we have a hive of honey bees, and this drone fly was just visiting but the only thing I could photograph, so I assumed they were all the same!

The bees are coming back with lots of pollen on their legs, so those are definitely bees