Blackthorn Mining Bee vs Common Grey Disco

Andrena varians compared with Mollisia cinerea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Common Grey Disco
Kingdom	Animalia (animal)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Arthropoda (arthropodes)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Insecta (insecte)	Leotiomycetes (Leotiomycetes)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Helotiales (Helotiales)
Family	Andrenidae	Mollisiaceae
Genus	Andrena	Mollisia
Species	Andrena varians	Mollisia cinerea

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Common Grey Disco

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Mining Bee	Common Grey Disco
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackthorn Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Grey Disco

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

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

Blackthorn Mining Bee

The Blackthorn Mining Bee (Andrena varians) is a species in the genus Andrena. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Common Grey Disco

<em>Mollisia cinerea</em>, commonly known as the common grey disco, is a saprotrophic fungus belonging to the genus Mollisia within the family Mollisiaceae. This species is native to Europe, with a documented range spanning Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. Common grey disco is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The species typically produces small, disc-shaped ascocarps with a grey to brownish-grey upper surface, typically emerging on decaying wood and plant debris in moist woodland habitats. As a decomposer, it plays an important ecological role in nutrient cycling within temperate forest ecosystems. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden