Yellow-faced Bee vs Painted Mining Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow-faced Bee Painted Mining Bee
Scientific Name Hylaeus communis Andrena fucata
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Colletidae Andrenidae
Size 5-7 mm 10-13 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Pollen Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Yellow-faced Bee

A tiny, nearly hairless black bee with distinctive yellow facial markings. It swallows pollen and carries it internally in its crop.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most bees, it carries pollen internally in its stomach rather than on external body hairs.

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.