Painted Mining Bee vs African Mantidfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Painted Mining Bee African Mantidfly
Scientific Name Andrena fucata Sagittalata olivacea
Order Hymenoptera Neuroptera
Family Andrenidae Mantispidae
Size 10-13 mm 18-26 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Parasitoids
Regions Europe Southern Africa, East Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Painted Mining Bee

A handsome spring bee with a red-brown thorax and banded abdomen. It is common in woodland clearings and gardens across Europe.

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Did You Know?

It is a favourite host of the cuckoo bee Nomada flava, which lays eggs in its nest burrows.

African Mantidfly

A greenish African mantidfly found in woodland and bushveld habitats. Like all mantidflies, it has distinctive raptorial front legs.

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Did You Know?

Larvae ride on female spiders phoretically, waiting for them to lay eggs before entering the egg sac.