Rose Slug Sawfly vs Heather Mining Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Rose Slug Sawfly Heather Mining Bee
Scientific Name Endelomyia aethiops Andrena fuscipes
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Tenthredinidae Andrenidae
Size 4-5 mm 10-12 mm
Habitat Underground Heathland
Diet Herbivores Pollen Feeders
Regions Europe, introduced to North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Rose Slug Sawfly

A small, dark sawfly whose slug-like larvae skeletonize rose leaves by feeding on the upper leaf surface. Larvae are pale yellowish-green and covered in a thin mucus layer.

💡

Did You Know?

Damaged rose leaves develop a characteristic translucent, papery appearance as only the lower epidermis remains after larval feeding.

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.