Blackthorn Mining Bee vs Greater knapweed

Andrena varians compared with Centaurea scabiosa

Key Differences

• Blackthorn Mining Bee is Least Concern while Greater knapweed is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Greater knapweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Andrenidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Andrena	Centaurea
Species	Andrena varians	Centaurea scabiosa

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Greater knapweed

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Greater knapweed
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.

Greater knapweed

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden