Nigerian Driver Ant vs Grey-patched Mining Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Nigerian Driver Ant Grey-patched Mining Bee
Scientific Name Dorylus nigricans Andrena nitida
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Dorylidae Andrenidae
Size Workers 3-14 mm; queen up to 52 mm 10-13 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Beaches & Coastal
Diet Carrion Feeders Fruit Feeders
Regions West Africa, Central Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Nigerian Driver Ant

A large driver ant species with massive soldier caste bearing sickle-shaped mandibles. Raiding columns can stretch over 100 meters.

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Did You Know?

Their queens are the largest known ants in the world and can lay up to 4 million eggs per month.

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.

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Did You Know?

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