It is a European species. The Honey Bee-sized females are very striking, with a dense orange pile on the abdomen and a darker reddish pile on top of the thorax. The head, legs and undersides of the thorax are completely black-haired. The smaller, slimmer, browner males are one of several species with very long mandibles bearing a large projection at the base but only fulva has antennal segment 3 much longer than 4. In the field, the males often appear to have a white 'Einstein' moustache (the white hairs arising from the lower clypeus).
I am not sure about this in my photos: antennal segment 3 much longer than 4.
