Arctic Blue vs Common Yellow-face Bee

Agriades aquilo compared with Hylaeus communis

Key Differences

• Arctic Blue is Near Threatened while Common Yellow-face Bee is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Blue	Common Yellow-face Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Lycaenidae	Colletidae
Genus	Agriades	Hylaeus
Species	Agriades aquilo	Hylaeus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Blue and Common Yellow-face Bee share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Arctic Blue

NT — Near Threatened

Common Yellow-face Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Blue	Common Yellow-face Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Blue

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Common Yellow-face Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Arctic Blue

The Arctic Blue (Agriades aquilo) is a species in the genus Agriades. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Yellow-face Bee

<em>Hylaeus communis</em>, the common yellow-face bee, is a small solitary bee in the family Colletidae. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and western Asia, where it is one of the most frequently encountered members of its genus. The species inhabits a broad range of open and semi-open habitats including gardens, meadows, hedgerows, heathlands, and woodland edges, often nesting in existing cavities such as hollow plant stems, galls, and old beetle burrows. Adults are small, typically 6–8 mm in length, and are characterized by yellow facial markings on an otherwise black body, the pattern being more extensive in males than females. Biological traits such as average lifespan, precise body weight, and detailed population estimates remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Unlike many bees, <em>Hylaeus</em> species lack specialized pollen-carrying structures; instead, they transport pollen and nectar internally in their crop. Adults visit a wide variety of flowers for food and are considered polylectic generalists. <em>Hylaeus communis</em> is assessed as Least Concern, reflecting its broad distribution and tolerance of diverse habitats, though it may be affected by loss of nesting sites and floral diversity in intensively managed landscapes.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden