Buff-tailed Mining Bee vs Common Blue

Andrena humilis compared with Polyommatus icarus

Key Differences

• Buff-tailed Mining Bee is Extinct while Common Blue is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buff-tailed Mining Bee	Common 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	Polyommatus
Species	Andrena humilis	Polyommatus icarus

Evolutionary Relationship

Buff-tailed Mining Bee and Common Blue share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Buff-tailed Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Common Blue

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buff-tailed Mining Bee	Common Blue
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Buff-tailed Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Common Blue

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Cyprus), Europe (40 countries), and North America (United States).

Buff-tailed Mining Bee

The Buff-Tailed Mining Bee (Andrena humilis) is a species in the genus Andrena. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Blue

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

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