Buff-tailed Bumblebee vs Orange-tailed Mining Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Buff-tailed Bumblebee Orange-tailed Mining Bee
Scientific Name Bombus terrestris Andrena haemorrhoa
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Andrenidae
Size 11-22 mm 8-12 mm
Habitat Farmland Orchards
Diet Nectar Feeders Fruit Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia, Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

A large, familiar bumblebee with black fur, a yellow collar, a yellow abdominal band, and a distinctive buff-white tail. It is one of the most important commercial pollinators in Europe.

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Did You Know?

This bumblebee can learn to pull strings to access food and then teach the technique to other bees, demonstrating a form of cultural transmission.

Orange-tailed Mining Bee

A common spring bee with a ginger thorax and orange-tipped abdomen. It visits a wide variety of flowers and is an important fruit tree pollinator.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the most abundant spring-flying solitary bees across the whole of Europe.