Blackthorn Mining Bee vs Tiny Earthstar

Andrena varians compared with Geastrum minimum

Key Differences

• Blackthorn Mining Bee is Least Concern while Tiny Earthstar is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Tiny Earthstar
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Geastrales (Geastrales)
Family	Andrenidae	Geastraceae
Genus	Andrena	Geastrum
Species	Andrena varians	Geastrum minimum

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Tiny Earthstar

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Tiny Earthstar
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.

Tiny Earthstar

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). 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 2 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway