bumble bee species uk

Bumblebees fall into three rough groups based on tail colour. How to identify spring bees White-tailed bumblebee queen Bombus lucorum.

Bumblebee Species Of Britain Print Bumble Bee Bee Facts Bee

Garden or small bumblebee Bombus hortorum.

. 25 of the UKs bee species are bumblebees. Only eight of these are regarded as common and these species account for the majority of bumblebee sightings. Buff-tailed bumblebee queen Bombus terrestris. They are social insects living in colonies of up to 200 workers.

Hairy-footed Flower Bee female Anthophora plumipes Forest Cuckoo Bumblebee Bombus sylvestris Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum Early Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa Willughbys Leafcutter Bee Megachile willughbiella Honey Bee queen Apis mellifera Red-shanked Carder-bee Bumblebee Bombus ruderarius Fabricus Nomad Bee Nomada fabriciana Davies. Common bumblebees include garden buff-tailed red-tailed white-tailed and field bumblebees. Single yellow bands on thorax and abdomen. A well established colony could comprise of up to 400 bees.

Look closely at flowering plants and youll probably spot several species. Common UK bumblebees identification guide. The Common Carder Bee is the only bumblebee that is mostly brownginger but lacks a white tail. Its tongue is long so visits flowers with long corollas such as foxgloves and red clover.

A new arrival and a welcome addition to the UKs bumblebees. Garden bumblebee Bombus hortorum. The rarest type of Carder Bee is the Shrill Carder Bee. The Early Bumblebee is the smallest bumblebee species in the UK.

There are 24 different species of bumblebee in the UK 25 if you include the reintroduced Short-haired bumblebee. Dont confuse it with the white-tailed bumblebee which only has one band on its head. The majority of these also social bees though colonies are significantly smaller and vary slightly depending on the species. Step 1 - Identification As well as honeybees there are around 24 species of bumblebee and over 240 species of solitary bee in the UK.

Tree bumblebee queen Bombus. Tree bumblebees were first recorded in the UK in 2001. Often the earliest active bumblebee the white-tailed bee can be. How many species of bumblebee are there in the UK.

The first bumblebees to appear in spring are queens followed by workers non-reproductive females then males and new queens. Nests also come to an end earlier than other species and males can be seen from May. Tongue lengths vary so different species feed on different flowers. As its name suggests this bumblebee is out early in the year alongside Buff-tailed and Tree Bumblebees.

Download guide PDF 077MB. This species has two yellow bands on the head and one on the thorax. Sadly our bumblebees are in decline due to habitat loss and two species have been driven to extinction here since 1940. It is a nest usurper taking over.

To find out what type of. This enterprising bee has quickly set up home across Britain and happily takes to nest boxes provided by kindly gardeners. These large hairy bees are generally black with varying degrees of yellow banding. However you can easily learn to identify some of the most common.

There are 25 species of bumblebee in the United Kingdom. White-tailed includes off-white to yellow red-tailed and uniform-tailed bees where the tail is the same colour as the rest of the abdomen usually ginger. The Red-tailed Cuckoo Bee is no ordinary bumblebee. This pocket bumblebee identification guide is an easy-to-use key designed to help you identify the six most common UK bumblebee species by looking at the insects colour patterns.

They are most common type of Carder bees and can be found across the UK.