| Gallery: Garden bumblebees |  |
Its hard to imagine a summer garden without the gentle buzz of bumblebees. Here is a selection of those you are most likely to encounter in the garden.
Pictures
 |
Queen buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). If you look closely you can see the stiff bristles on her hind legs which form her pollen baskets.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
Spring is the best time to see the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) because only the queen has the distinctive buff tail. Workers have a white tail and are impossible to tell apart from those of the white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) without disection.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
In this picture of the early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) you can see the rosy red 'tail' which, in conjunction with the yellow bands, are normally sufficient to identify it. The bright yellow facial hairs also identify this specimen as a male.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
Close-up shot of the face of a queen early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum). Notice the lack of yellow facial hairs, which are clearly visible on males of this species. Notice too that the face is only as long as it is wide in this short-tongued species.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
So named because it is one of the first bumblebees to emerge from hibernation, the early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is quite fairly easy to identify because it is the only common garden bumblebee with both a red 'tail' and the more normal buff stripes. This one was photographed on a geranium.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
The arrangement of the bands on the thorax and abdomen of can be seen in this profile view of a queen early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum).
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
You sometimes have to look quite carefully to see the red 'tail' of the early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) as you can see from this photograph of one on some chives. The yellow facial hairs also show that this is a male.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
Common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum): the only uniformly brown bumblebee commonly seen in gardens.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
The common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) is quite readily identified because it is the only common garden bumblebee which is fairly uniformly coloured brown. This one was photographed on common bistort (Persicaria bistorta).
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
This grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.) was still in its pot, waiting to be planted out, when a recently emerged queen white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) found it.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
An early white-tailed queen bumblebee refuelling after its winter hibernation. Early flowering plants like these crocus are invaluable to emerging insects.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
Close-up view of a queen white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) in search of a nest site.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
The queen white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) can be told apart from queens of the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) by its white 'tail' (not clearly visible in this shot). They can also be separated from garden bumblebees (Bombus hortorum) by the lack of a stripe at the posterior of the thorax.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
This stunning image to mating red-tailed bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius) clearly shows the different markings of the male and the much larger queen.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
This shot of a queen red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) in flight over marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) clearly shows the distinctive red 'tail' (tip of the abdomen).
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
The red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) is very distinctive: a very dark bee except for the strikingly red 'tail' (tip of the abdomen). This queen was photographed on marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) in spring.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
This excellent shot of a garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) in flight shows the pattern of stripes on the thorax and abdomen particularly well. Notice particuarly the two yellow stripes on the thorax.
| | Click to enlarge | |
 |
The 'garden' bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) is relatively easily identified because it is the only bumblebee commonly found in gardens which has a stripe at the posterior of its thorax as well as one at the anterior of its abdomen. These can look like a single stripe if not well seen, but you can clearly see them in this picture. The posterior of the abdomen ('tail') is whitish in common with several other species.
| | Click to enlarge | |
Back to home page
Do you live in Merseyside? Interested in its wildlife? | |
