Chocolate Mining Bee vs Emerald Cockroach Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Chocolate Mining Bee Emerald Cockroach Wasp
Scientific Name Andrena scotica Ampulex compressa
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Andrenidae Ampulicidae
Size 9-13 mm 22 mm
Habitat Heathland Forests
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Africa, Asia, Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Chocolate Mining Bee

A medium-sized bee with warm brown fur, common across the British Isles. It visits a wide range of spring and early summer flowers.

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Did You Know?

Despite its common name, it is named for its chocolate-brown fur, not any association with cocoa.

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

A brilliant emerald-green wasp that zombifies cockroaches. It delivers precise stings to the cockroachs brain, removing its escape reflex. Then leads it by the antenna like a dog on a leash.

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Did You Know?

The emerald cockroach wasp performs neurosurgery — it stings a cockroach twice in precise brain locations to disable its escape reflex, then walks it to a burrow like a zombie.