Blackthorn Mining Bee vs Common stork's bill

Andrena varians compared with Erodium ciconium

Key Differences

• Blackthorn Mining Bee is Least Concern while Common stork's bill is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Common stork's bill
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Geraniales (Geraniales)
Family	Andrenidae	Geraniaceae
Genus	Andrena	Erodium
Species	Andrena varians	Erodium ciconium

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Common stork's bill

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Common stork's bill
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackthorn Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Common stork's bill

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (8 countries) and North America (United States).

Blackthorn Mining Bee

The Blackthorn Mining Bee (Andrena varians) is a species in the genus Andrena. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Common stork's bill

<em>Erodium ciconium</em>, the common stork's-bill, is an annual or biennial flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, order Geraniales. It is native to the Mediterranean region and southern Europe and has been introduced to parts of North America. The species typically inhabits dry, disturbed habitats including roadsides, cultivated fields, rocky slopes, and coastal areas, favoring sandy or calcareous soils with good drainage. Its pink to purple flowers are relatively small, and the distinctive elongated fruit resembles a stork's bill, a characteristic shared across the genus <em>Erodium</em>. The beak-like fruits are adapted for wind and animal dispersal, with hygroscopic awns that drill the seed into the soil through coiling movements in response to moisture changes. Biological traits such as typical lifespan duration, average biomass, and detailed dietary associations remain poorly documented at the species level. <em>Erodium ciconium</em> has not been formally evaluated by the IUCN, though it is generally considered a common species without significant conservation concern across most of its range.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden