Chocolate Mining Bee vs Large Gorse Mining Bee

Andrena carantonica compared with Andrena bimaculata

Key Differences

• Chocolate Mining Bee is Least Concern while Large Gorse Mining Bee is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chocolate Mining Bee	Large Gorse Mining Bee
Kingdom same	Animalia (प्राणी)	Animalia (प्राणी)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (सन्धिपाद)	Arthropoda (सन्धिपाद)
Class same	Insecta (कीट)	Insecta (कीट)
Order same	Hymenoptera (कलापक्ष)	Hymenoptera (कलापक्ष)
Family same	Andrenidae	Andrenidae
Genus same	Andrena	Andrena
Species	Andrena carantonica	Andrena bimaculata

Evolutionary Relationship

Chocolate Mining Bee and Large Gorse Mining Bee share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Andrena.

Conservation Status

Chocolate Mining Bee

LC — Least Concern

Large Gorse Mining Bee

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chocolate Mining Bee	Large Gorse Mining Bee
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chocolate Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Large 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.

Chocolate Mining Bee

The Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena carantonica) is a medium-sized solitary bee in the family Andrenidae, native to Europe and extending across temperate Eurasia. Mining bees of the genus Andrena are ground-nesting bees that excavate burrows in soft or sandy soils, creating underground cells provisioned with pollen and nectar as larval food. Andrena carantonica is one of several spring-emerging Andrena species associated with fruit trees and spring-flowering plants; females frequently visit the flowers of apple, cherry, hawthorn, willow, and other early-season species, making them important pollinators of both wild plants and orchard crops. The species is often an early-season visitor alongside other spring bees, making it an important pollination service provider before managed honeybee colonies are at full strength. Males typically emerge before females, patrolling host plant patches in search of mates. The species is eusocial in the broad sense, with females sometimes nesting in loose aggregations in favoured soil sites. The IUCN classifies Andrena carantonica as Least Concern; it is one of the more widespread and frequently recorded Andrena species across its range. Threats to mining bee populations generally include loss of nesting habitat (bare ground), loss of floral resources through agricultural intensification, and pesticide use.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden