Ashy Mining Bee vs small tortoiseshell

Andrena cineraria compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Ashy Mining Bee is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ashy Mining Bee	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Andrenidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Andrena	Aglais
Species	Andrena cineraria	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Ashy Mining Bee and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Ashy Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ashy Mining Bee	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ashy Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Ashy Mining Bee

Ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria) is a species in the genus Andrena. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden