Grey-backed Mining Bee vs Small Gorse Mining Bee

Andrena vaga compared with Andrena ovatula

Key Differences

• Grey-backed Mining Bee is Least Concern while Small Gorse Mining Bee is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Grey-backed Mining Bee	Small Gorse Mining Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family same	Andrenidae	Andrenidae
Genus same	Andrena	Andrena
Species	Andrena vaga	Andrena ovatula

Evolutionary Relationship

Grey-backed Mining Bee and Small Gorse Mining Bee share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Andrena.

Conservation Status

Grey-backed Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Small Gorse Mining Bee

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Grey-backed Mining Bee	Small Gorse Mining Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Grey-backed Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

Small Gorse Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden