Anthracite Bee-fly vs Common Carder Bee

Anthrax anthrax compared with Bombus pascuorum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Anthracite Bee-fly	Common Carder Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Bombyliidae	Apidae (Bees)
Genus	Anthrax	Bombus
Species	Anthrax anthrax	Bombus pascuorum

Evolutionary Relationship

Anthracite Bee-fly and Common Carder Bee share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Anthracite Bee-fly

LC — Least Concern

Common Carder Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Anthracite Bee-fly	Common Carder Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Anthracite Bee-fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Common Carder Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Anthracite Bee-fly

The Anthracite Bee-fly (Anthrax anthrax) is a species in the genus Anthrax. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Carder Bee

<em>Bombus pascuorum</em>, commonly known as the common carder bee, is a bumblebee species found across Europe, with documented occurrences in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and additional European countries. It typically inhabits all terrestrial and freshwater environments, often foraging across a wide range of flowering plants in meadows, gardens, hedgerows, and farmland. The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating a broadly stable global population. Common carder bee belongs to the genus <em>Bombus</em> within the family Apidae and is one of the more widely distributed bumblebee species in Europe. It often nests above ground in dry grass, moss, or other plant material, building compact nests characteristic of carder bees. As a generalist pollinator, it visits a diverse range of flowering species and contributes meaningfully to ecosystem pollination services. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and mass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden