Chestnut-breasted Whiteface vs Common Yellow-face Bee

Aphelocephala pectoralis compared with Hylaeus communis

Key Differences

• Chestnut-breasted Whiteface is Near Threatened while Common Yellow-face Bee is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chestnut-breasted Whiteface	Common Yellow-face Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Acanthizidae	Colletidae
Genus	Aphelocephala	Hylaeus
Species	Aphelocephala pectoralis	Hylaeus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Chestnut-breasted Whiteface

NT — Near Threatened

Common Yellow-face Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chestnut-breasted Whiteface	Common Yellow-face Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chestnut-breasted Whiteface

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found in Norway. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common Yellow-face Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Chestnut-breasted Whiteface

The Chestnut-breasted Whiteface (Aphelocephala pectoralis) is a species in the genus Aphelocephala. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway