Fly Agaric vs Grey-backed Mining Bee

Amanita muscaria compared with Andrena vaga

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Grey-backed Mining Bee
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Andrenidae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Andrena
Species	Amanita muscaria	Andrena vaga

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Grey-backed Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Grey-backed Mining Bee
Diet	Decomposer	—
Average Lifespan	1 years	—
Average Length	20 cm	—
Average Weight	100 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Grey-backed Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.