Cliff Mining Bee vs common bubble snail

Andrena thoracica compared with Akera bullata

Key Differences

• Cliff Mining Bee is Extinct while common bubble snail is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cliff Mining Bee	common bubble snail
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (artrópode)	Mollusca (Moluscos)
Class	Insecta (inseto)	Gastropoda (Gastrópodes)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Aplysiida (Aplysiida)
Family	Andrenidae	Akeridae
Genus	Andrena	Akera
Species	Andrena thoracica	Akera bullata

Evolutionary Relationship

Cliff Mining Bee and common bubble snail share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cliff Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

common bubble snail

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cliff Mining Bee	common bubble snail
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cliff Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

common bubble snail

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Cliff Mining Bee

The Cliff Mining Bee, Andrena species in the family Andrenidae, is a solitary ground-nesting bee that excavates tunnels in cliff faces, earthen banks, and compacted sandy or loamy soils, where the loose or friable substrates exposed in cliff profiles provide ideal nesting conditions. Mining bees in the genus Andrena are among the most species-rich solitary bee genera in the world, with hundreds of species across the Holarctic region, many narrowly specialized in their choice of pollen host plants. Female cliff mining bees construct vertical or angled burrows in cliff faces, with lateral cells off the main shaft, each containing a pollen ball and a single egg. Males are typically smaller and emerge before females to establish territories near nesting sites. Many Andrena species are oligolectic, collecting pollen from only a small number of plant species, making their populations sensitive to the availability of specific flowering plants in the landscape surrounding nesting areas. Cliff and bank nesting habitats provide well-drained, sun-warmed substrates essential for brood development. The loss of natural cliff faces and earthen banks to development, vegetation succession, and quarrying reduces available nesting habitat for cliff mining bees.

common bubble snail

The common bubble snail (<em>Akera bullata</em>) is a marine gastropod mollusc found in the coastal waters of Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. This species typically inhabits terrestrial and aquatic environments including forests and freshwater-adjacent marine areas, often occurring in shallow subtidal and intertidal zones of temperate European seas. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. As a member of the family Akeridae, the common bubble snail is characterized by its thin, fragile shell and its ability to swim briefly by flapping its large, wing-like parapodia. The species often forages on algae and detritus in sandy and muddy seafloor habitats, particularly in sheltered bays and estuaries. The common bubble snail typically aggregates in large numbers during the spawning season, producing gelatinous egg masses. 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