Grey-patched Mining Bee vs Greenhead Horse Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Grey-patched Mining Bee Greenhead Horse Fly
Scientific Name Andrena nitida Tabanus nigrovittatus
Order Hymenoptera Diptera
Family Andrenidae Tabanidae
Size 10-13 mm 12-15 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Fruit Feeders Blood Feeders
Regions Europe Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Grey-patched Mining Bee

A glossy black bee with patches of grey hair on the thorax. It is one of the earliest spring-flying solitary bees in Europe.

💡

Did You Know?

It is a key pollinator of blackthorn, which produces sloe berries used to make sloe gin.

Greenhead Horse Fly

A coastal salt marsh horse fly with bright green eyes. It is the most abundant biting fly along the Atlantic coast of North America.

💡

Did You Know?

Greenheads are so abundant in some coastal areas that they limit beach recreation in summer.