Heather Mining Bee vs Birch Leaf-Roller Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Heather Mining Bee Birch Leaf-Roller Sawfly
Scientific Name Andrena fuscipes Pamphilius betulae
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Andrenidae Pamphiliidae
Size 10-12 mm 9-13 mm
Habitat Heathland Woodlands
Diet Pollen Feeders Herbivores
Regions Europe Europe, northern Asia
Conservation Near Threatened Least Concern

Heather Mining Bee

A late-summer specialist bee that collects pollen almost exclusively from heather and bell heather. It nests in sandy soil on heathlands.

💡

Did You Know?

Its late summer flight season precisely coincides with heather bloom and it is one of the last solitary bees flying in the year.

Birch Leaf-Roller Sawfly

A flat-bodied sawfly with long, thread-like antennae and a broad abdomen. Larvae roll birch leaves into tubes using silk and feed inside these shelters.

💡

Did You Know?

The larva creates an elaborate rolled-leaf shelter that protects it from both predators and weather while it feeds inside.