Common Yellow-face Bee vs Fly Agaric

Hylaeus communis compared with Amanita muscaria

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Yellow-face Bee	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Animalia (động vật)	Fungi (nấm)
Phylum	Arthropoda (động vật Chân khớp)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Insecta (côn trùng)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Hymenoptera (Bộ Cánh màng)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Colletidae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Hylaeus	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Hylaeus communis	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Common Yellow-face Bee

LC — Least Concern

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Yellow-face Bee	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Yellow-face Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

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).

Common Yellow-face Bee

<em>Hylaeus communis</em>, the common yellow-face bee, is a small solitary bee in the family Colletidae. It is widely distributed across much of Europe and western Asia, where it is one of the most frequently encountered members of its genus. The species inhabits a broad range of open and semi-open habitats including gardens, meadows, hedgerows, heathlands, and woodland edges, often nesting in existing cavities such as hollow plant stems, galls, and old beetle burrows. Adults are small, typically 6–8 mm in length, and are characterized by yellow facial markings on an otherwise black body, the pattern being more extensive in males than females. Biological traits such as average lifespan, precise body weight, and detailed population estimates remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Unlike many bees, <em>Hylaeus</em> species lack specialized pollen-carrying structures; instead, they transport pollen and nectar internally in their crop. Adults visit a wide variety of flowers for food and are considered polylectic generalists. <em>Hylaeus communis</em> is assessed as Least Concern, reflecting its broad distribution and tolerance of diverse habitats, though it may be affected by loss of nesting sites and floral diversity in intensively managed landscapes.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden