Blackthorn Mining Bee vs small blue

Andrena varians compared with Cupido minimus

Key Differences

• Blackthorn Mining Bee is Least Concern while small blue is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Mining Bee	small blue
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	Lycaenidae
Genus	Andrena	Cupido
Species	Andrena varians	Cupido minimus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

small blue

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Mining Bee	small blue
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.

small blue

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (39 countries). 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.

small blue

small blue (Cupido minimus) 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 4 countries:

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