Alfken's Mini-miner vs Melancholy Thistle

Andrena alfkenella compared with Cirsium heterophyllum

Key Differences

Alfken's Mini-miner is Near Threatened while Melancholy Thistle is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alfken's Mini-miner	Melancholy Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Andrenidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Andrena	Cirsium
Species	Andrena alfkenella	Cirsium heterophyllum

Conservation Status

Alfken's Mini-miner

NT — Near Threatened

Melancholy Thistle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alfken's Mini-miner	Melancholy Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alfken's Mini-miner

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Melancholy Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Alfken's Mini-miner

The Alfken's Mini-miner (Andrena alfkenella) is a species in the genus Andrena. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.