Coastal Ragweed vs Common Yellow-face Bee

Ambrosia hispida compared with Hylaeus communis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Ragweed	Common Yellow-face Bee
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Colletidae
Genus	Ambrosia	Hylaeus
Species	Ambrosia hispida	Hylaeus communis

Conservation Status

Coastal Ragweed

LC — Least Concern

Common Yellow-face Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Ragweed	Common Yellow-face Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Ragweed

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Cuba.

Common Yellow-face Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Coastal Ragweed

Coastal ragweed (Ambrosia hispida) is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae, native to the coastal dunes, sandy beaches, and cays of Cuba, the Bahamas, and the wider Caribbean region. It grows in pioneer beach and dune vegetation, often forming spreading colonies that help stabilise loose coastal sands. Like other members of the genus Ambrosia, it bears inconspicuous greenish-white flowers arranged in racemes; male flower heads produce wind-dispersed pollen that can trigger allergic rhinitis in sensitive individuals. The deeply lobed, hispid leaves are adapted to reflect intense solar radiation and tolerate salt spray. Coastal ragweed plays an ecological role in early dune succession, binding sand and enabling other plant species to establish. The genus is widespread globally, with several Ambrosia species considered noxious weeds in agricultural settings, though Ambrosia hispida is restricted to its native Caribbean coastal range. The IUCN assesses it as Least Concern, reflecting adequate population size across its Caribbean coastal distribution. Pressure from coastal development and tourism infrastructure poses a localised threat to dune communities it inhabits.

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.