Common Gnat vs Common Green Furrow Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Gnat Common Green Furrow Bee
Scientific Name Culex modestus Lasioglossum malachurum
Order Diptera Hymenoptera
Family Culicidae Halictidae
Size 4-5 mm 7-9 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Blood Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, Central Asia, North Africa Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Gnat

A small brownish mosquito widespread across Europe and Central Asia that breeds in marshes and rice paddies. It is a competent vector of West Nile virus and is considered the species responsible for several West Nile virus outbreaks in Europe. It feeds readily on both birds and mammals.

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Did You Know?

This species was identified as the key West Nile virus vector in the Camargue wetlands of southern France.

Common Green Furrow Bee

A small, primitively eusocial sweat bee in which a single queen overwinters and founds a colony with successive worker broods. It has a bronzy-green head and thorax.

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Did You Know?

Colonies can have over 100 workers by late summer, making it one of the most social of all halictid bees.