Buff-tailed Mining Bee vs Tiny Earthstar

Andrena humilis compared with Geastrum minimum

Key Differences

• Buff-tailed Mining Bee is Extinct while Tiny Earthstar is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buff-tailed 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 humilis	Geastrum minimum

Conservation Status

Buff-tailed Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Tiny Earthstar

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buff-tailed Mining Bee	Tiny Earthstar
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.

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.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway