Betic Midwife Toad vs Common Mourning Bee

Alytes dickhilleni compared with Melecta albifrons

Key Differences

• Betic Midwife Toad is Endangered while Common Mourning Bee is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Betic Midwife Toad	Common Mourning Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Anura (Frogs & Toads)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Alytidae	Apidae (Bees)
Genus	Alytes	Melecta
Species	Alytes dickhilleni	Melecta albifrons

Evolutionary Relationship

Betic Midwife Toad and Common Mourning Bee share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Betic Midwife Toad

EN — Endangered

Common Mourning Bee

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Betic Midwife Toad	Common Mourning Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Betic Midwife Toad

Habitat

Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Common Mourning Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

Betic Midwife Toad

The Betic Midwife Toad (Alytes dickhilleni) is a species in the genus Alytes. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Common Mourning Bee

<em>Melecta albifrons</em>, the common mourning bee, is a solitary bee in the family Apidae, tribe Melectini. This species is a cleptoparasite, meaning it lays its eggs in the nests of other bee species rather than constructing its own nests or provisioning them with pollen. <em>Melecta albifrons</em> typically targets the nests of mining bees in the genus Anthophora, which are ground-nesting species common across Europe. The mourning bee is named for its dark, somber coloration punctuated by white or pale hair patches, giving it a distinctive appearance. Its geographic range includes temperate Europe, with recorded occurrences in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden, typically in habitats where its Anthophora hosts are present, including gardens, hedgerows, meadows, and areas with bare sandy or clay soils. The species has not been formally evaluated under the IUCN Red List framework. Biological traits such as lifespan, body size, and diet remain poorly documented for this species beyond its known cleptoparasitic behavior. Conservation of <em>Melecta albifrons</em> is closely linked to maintaining healthy populations of its host bee species, and broader pollinator-friendly habitat management.