Garden Bumblebee
Bombus hortorum
Three yellow stripes, white tail.
Queen
Lemon-yellow collar
Lemon-yellow rear band
Lemon-yellow front band
White tail
March
Worker
Lemon-yellow collar.
Lemon-yellow rear band.
Lemon-yellow front band.
White tail.
April
Male
Lemon-yellow collar
Lemon-yellow rear band
Lemon-yellow front band
White tail
June
- Queens, workers and males all have the same colour pattern.
- Has a dark form with no yellow bands – but always has white tail.
- Has the longest tongue of any bee in the world.
Garden Bumblebee
Bombus hortorum
Long face and very long tongue - likes tubular flowers.
- Bird’s-foot trefoils
- Bluebells
- Borage
- Bowle’s mauve wallflower
- Comfrey
- English lavender
- Foxgloves
- Knapweed
- Red clover
- Vetches
Crocus
Lavendar
Thistle
Nest
- Underground, like old rodent nests.
- Usually 1 nest cycle per year, 2 cycles in the South.
- Lasts 3-4 months.
- Up to 150 workers.
Distribution
- Common.
- Widespread across UK.