Brook Floater vs Common Yellow-face Bee

Alasmidonta varicosa compared with Hylaeus communis

Key Differences

• Brook Floater is Vulnerable while Common Yellow-face Bee is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brook Floater	Common Yellow-face Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Bivalvia (Bivalvia)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Unionida (Unionida)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Unionidae	Colletidae
Genus	Alasmidonta	Hylaeus
Species	Alasmidonta varicosa	Hylaeus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Brook Floater and Common Yellow-face Bee share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brook Floater

VU — Vulnerable

Common Yellow-face Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brook Floater	Common Yellow-face Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brook Floater

Habitat

Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Yellow-face Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Brook Floater

The Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) is a species in the genus Alasmidonta. It is currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Common Yellow-face Bee

<em>Hylaeus communis</em>, the common yellow-face bee, is a small solitary bee in the family Colletidae. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and western Asia, where it is one of the most frequently encountered members of its genus. The species inhabits a broad range of open and semi-open habitats including gardens, meadows, hedgerows, heathlands, and woodland edges, often nesting in existing cavities such as hollow plant stems, galls, and old beetle burrows. Adults are small, typically 6–8 mm in length, and are characterized by yellow facial markings on an otherwise black body, the pattern being more extensive in males than females. Biological traits such as average lifespan, precise body weight, and detailed population estimates remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Unlike many bees, <em>Hylaeus</em> species lack specialized pollen-carrying structures; instead, they transport pollen and nectar internally in their crop. Adults visit a wide variety of flowers for food and are considered polylectic generalists. <em>Hylaeus communis</em> is assessed as Least Concern, reflecting its broad distribution and tolerance of diverse habitats, though it may be affected by loss of nesting sites and floral diversity in intensively managed landscapes.