BRISC Red or Orange-tailed Bumblebees



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Projects -> Bumblebee Survey -> Identification -> Red or Orange tailed bees

Red or Orange tailed bumblebees
Bombus lapidarius Photo and ID chart Photo (male) Photo (queen)	Large red-tailed bumblebee. This species has been spreading northwards. It used to be mainly a coastal bee in Scotland, but is now common in many inland areas. It frequents gardens and it will be an interesting bee to chart. Queens are large and totally black, except for the bright red tail. They can be told from the similar but much scarcer Red-shanked carder bee (B.ruderarius), by having black hairs on the pollen basket Workers are similar to queens Males have an additional clear yellow band behind the head on the thorax (collar).
Bombus ruderarius ID chart	Red-shanked carder bee Very similar to the previous species, it is very scarce and restricted to the west in its Scottish distribution. It is distinguished from the large red-tailed bumblebee (B.lapidarius) by the tail being less bright, more rust-red and having red hairs fringing the pollen basket. The latter is not always easily seen in the field and records should be accompanied by specimens unless the recorder is known to be very experienced. BWARS is particularly interested in having records of this species Queens are totally black, except for a rust-red tail and they have all red hairs fringing the pollen basket Workers are similar to queens but have red-tipped hairs on the pollen basket Males have a yellow-grey collar on the thorax and a thinner one at the rear of the thorax.
Bombus pratorum Photo and ID chart Photo	Early bumblebee This is our smallest bumblebee, and commonly seen in gardens. It has a pinkish/dull orange tail. Note that the White-tailed bumblebee (B.lucorum) (see this page) may sometimes have a pinkish tint to the white tail, especially if they have been visiting flowers with pink pollen. It has one or two yellow bands, one at the front of the thorax and one near the top of the abdomen. It visits gardens and many other places. Queens are often no bigger than workers of other species. Workers and males are absolutely tiny. All have the same colouration, though one of the yellow bands might be absent.
Bombus monticola Photo and ID chart	Bilberry bumblebee This bee usually lives on moorland but it also appears to move around more widely, e.g. visiting sites near the coast. It is easily told from other red-tailed bees by the heart-shaped abdomen, most of which is covered with red hairs. BWARS are particularly interested in records of this species. Queens favour moorland and may often be seen feeding on bilberry. Workers and males are similar in colour but smaller