Common Mourning Bee vs Long-tailed Sylph

Melecta albifrons compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Common Mourning Bee is Not Evaluated while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Mourning Bee	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Apidae (Bees)	Trochilidae
Genus	Melecta	Aglaiocercus
Species	Melecta albifrons	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Mourning Bee and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Mourning Bee

NE — Not Evaluated

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Mourning Bee	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Mourning Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Common Mourning Bee

<em>Melecta albifrons</em>, the common mourning bee, is a solitary bee in the family Apidae, tribe Melectini. This species is a cleptoparasite, meaning it lays its eggs in the nests of other bee species rather than constructing its own nests or provisioning them with pollen. <em>Melecta albifrons</em> typically targets the nests of mining bees in the genus Anthophora, which are ground-nesting species common across Europe. The mourning bee is named for its dark, somber coloration punctuated by white or pale hair patches, giving it a distinctive appearance. Its geographic range includes temperate Europe, with recorded occurrences in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden, typically in habitats where its Anthophora hosts are present, including gardens, hedgerows, meadows, and areas with bare sandy or clay soils. The species has not been formally evaluated under the IUCN Red List framework. Biological traits such as lifespan, body size, and diet remain poorly documented for this species beyond its known cleptoparasitic behavior. Conservation of <em>Melecta albifrons</em> is closely linked to maintaining healthy populations of its host bee species, and broader pollinator-friendly habitat management.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.