Small Heath Butterfly vs Common Carder Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Small Heath Butterfly Common Carder Bee
Scientific Name Coenonympha pamphilus Bombus pascuorum
Order Lepidoptera Hymenoptera
Family Nymphalidae Apidae
Size 26-33 mm wingspan 9-18 mm
Habitat Grasslands Underground
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, North Africa, Western Asia Western Europe, Central Europe, Northern Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Small Heath Butterfly

A small, plain orange-brown butterfly that always rests with its wings closed. It is one of the most widespread grassland butterflies in Europe.

💡

Did You Know?

It never opens its wings when at rest, always keeping the underwing eyespot visible as a predator deflection.

Common Carder Bee

A fluffy ginger-brown bumblebee that builds nests on the ground surface using moss and grass. It has one of the longest flight seasons of any European bumblebee.

💡

Did You Know?

Workers 'card' moss fibres over the nest like wool, which gives the species its common name.