Painted Mining Bee vs Twin-spot Centurion

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Painted Mining Bee Twin-spot Centurion
Scientific Name Andrena fucata Sargus bipunctatus
Order Hymenoptera Diptera
Family Andrenidae Stratiomyidae
Size 10-13 mm 8-13 mm
Habitat Woodlands Underground
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Europe
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.

Twin-spot Centurion

A metallic bronze-green soldier fly with two characteristic pale spots on the frons. It is one of the most common stratiomyids in Europe, found basking on ivy flowers in autumn.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the last flies to be active in autumn, still visiting ivy flowers well into November.