Cliff Mining Bee vs Common Sundew

Andrena thoracica compared with Drosera rotundifolia

Key Differences

Cliff Mining Bee is Extinct while Common Sundew is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cliff Mining Bee	Common Sundew
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Andrenidae	Droseraceae
Genus	Andrena	Drosera
Species	Andrena thoracica	Drosera rotundifolia

Conservation Status

Cliff Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Common Sundew

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cliff Mining Bee	Common Sundew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cliff Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Sundew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (8 countries), and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Cliff Mining Bee

The Cliff Mining Bee, Andrena species in the family Andrenidae, is a solitary ground-nesting bee that excavates tunnels in cliff faces, earthen banks, and compacted sandy or loamy soils, where the loose or friable substrates exposed in cliff profiles provide ideal nesting conditions. Mining bees in the genus Andrena are among the most species-rich solitary bee genera in the world, with hundreds of species across the Holarctic region, many narrowly specialized in their choice of pollen host plants. Female cliff mining bees construct vertical or angled burrows in cliff faces, with lateral cells off the main shaft, each containing a pollen ball and a single egg. Males are typically smaller and emerge before females to establish territories near nesting sites. Many Andrena species are oligolectic, collecting pollen from only a small number of plant species, making their populations sensitive to the availability of specific flowering plants in the landscape surrounding nesting areas. Cliff and bank nesting habitats provide well-drained, sun-warmed substrates essential for brood development. The loss of natural cliff faces and earthen banks to development, vegetation succession, and quarrying reduces available nesting habitat for cliff mining bees.

Common Sundew

<em>Drosera rotundifolia</em>, the common sundew, is a carnivorous flowering plant in the family Droseraceae, order Caryophyllales. It has a broad distribution spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, typically growing in sphagnum bogs, wet heathlands, and other nutrient-poor, acidic wetland habitats where it compensates for low soil nutrient availability by trapping and digesting insects. The round leaves bear red, glandular tentacles tipped with sticky mucilage that immobilize prey, which is then digested by enzymes secreted from the leaf surface. <em>Drosera rotundifolia</em> produces small white flowers on a slender scape, pollinated by insects. It plays a minor but ecologically interesting role in controlling insect populations within its boggy habitat. Biological traits including typical individual lifespan, precise leaf dimensions, and detailed prey composition remain poorly documented. The species is assessed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, reflecting significant population declines across much of its range driven primarily by drainage and destruction of peatland habitats, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and climate change altering the hydrology of bog ecosystems. Effective peatland conservation is critical for the long-term survival of this species.