Buff-tailed Mining Bee vs Common Button Lichen

Andrena humilis compared with Buellia erubescens

Key Differences

Buff-tailed Mining Bee is Extinct while Common Button Lichen is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buff-tailed Mining Bee	Common Button Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Caliciales (Caliciales)
Family	Andrenidae	Caliciaceae
Genus	Andrena	Buellia
Species	Andrena humilis	Buellia erubescens

Conservation Status

Buff-tailed Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Common Button Lichen

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buff-tailed Mining Bee	Common Button Lichen
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 Button Lichen

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and 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 Button Lichen

<em>Buellia erubescens</em>, commonly known as the common button lichen, is a lichen species with documented occurrences across Asia, Europe, and North America, including countries such as Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. It typically colonizes diverse terrestrial surfaces, often found on bark, rock, or other substrates in temperate and boreal environments. Common button lichen belongs to the genus <em>Buellia</em> within the family Caliciaceae. As a crustose lichen, it typically forms tightly adhered, crust-like thalli on the surfaces it colonizes, making it characteristic of stable, undisturbed substrates. Biological traits such as average lifespan, thallus size, and biomass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species has not yet been formally evaluated by the IUCN, and its global conservation status therefore remains undetermined. Its occurrence across multiple continents suggests a wide ecological tolerance, though detailed population data and trend assessments are currently lacking for this taxon.