Yellow-Horned Horntail vs Heather Mining Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow-Horned Horntail Heather Mining Bee
Scientific Name Urocerus flavicornis Andrena fuscipes
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Siricidae Andrenidae
Size 20-35 mm 10-12 mm
Habitat Forests Heathland
Diet Wood Feeders Pollen Feeders
Regions Europe, temperate Asia Europe
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Yellow-Horned Horntail

A large wood wasp distinguished by its yellow antennae contrasting with a dark metallic blue-black body. Females bore into conifer wood to lay eggs.

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Did You Know?

Adults often emerge from lumber used in construction, sometimes surprising homeowners years after the wood was milled.

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.

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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.