Above a close-up photograph of a bumblebee sting, on the right a Bombus terrestris worker doing what she does best, and below a sea squirt or tunicate.
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Top keyword search terms in February 2010 |
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Bumblebee. Well there is a whole site devoted to them, see the photographs of the 6 most common bumblebees in the UK below. |
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Do bumblebees sting? Yes, but only the queens and workers, see the sting of a Bombus lapidarius queen left. For more visit the sting page. |
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Chordata. The sea squirts (see the drawing below left). |
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Bumblebee nest. The lifecycle section describes the various stages of a bumblebee nest, also there is a page about artificial nestboxes. See the drawing right of the inside of a bumblebee nest. |
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Primary and secondary succession |
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Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells |
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Do bumblebees sting or bite? The correct answer is they can do both, but as far as humans are concerned it is only the sting that would have any effect, as the mandibles/jaws are fairly feeble - see the close up below of a bumblebee head. |
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Anoplura. The sucking lice, see the human body louse below. |
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Bombus terrestris. See the worker busy pollinating above and the queen, worker and male below. |
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Uniramia. The insects, millipedes, centipedes etc., see the newly hatched millipede below. |
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The importance of bees. On this page you will learn just why we need bees, but it really all boils down to the photograph above of a bumblebeebee covered in pollen. |
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Bombus
terrestris. This is our largest bumblebee, and usually the first to
emerge. The thing to note on the queen is the dirty orange colour of the hairs
at the end of the abdomen. Also when Bombus terrestris and B.
lucorum can be seen together the yellow hairs of B. terrestris
appear more orangey while those of B. lucorum are more lemon yellow.
Workers have a white tail, and are almost indistinguishable from Bombus
lucorum workers. Lengths, queen 20-22, worker 11-17, male 14-16.
More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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Same as worker |
| Bombus lucorum. Slightly smaller than Bombus
terrestris, and with a white tip to her abdomen. Lengths, queen 19-20,
worker 11-17, male 14-16. Populations are believed to be declining. More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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| Bombus lapidarius. Probably the most easy to recognise
of all our bumblebees with its black body and bright orange tail. Although its
body is as long as that of B. terrestris it is not as heavily built.
Lengths, queen 20-22, workers 11-16, male 14-16. The photograph of the males
below shows the typical "moustache", one of the easiest ways to recognise a
male bumblebee. Is extending its range northwards. More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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Very
similar to the queen, but usually much smaller. |
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| Bombus pratorum. This bee has the most colour variation
of the six common species. The yellow bar on the thorax is usually there, but
may be reduced to just a few hairs. The yellow bar in the middle of the abdomen
often has a break in the middle, and sometimes it is just a few yellow hairs,
and occasionally totally absent. The pink/orange/brown tail hairs are usually
present, but the colour varies. Workers have a white tail. Lengths, queen
15-17, workers 10-14, male 11-13. More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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Very
similar to the queen, but usually slightly smaller. |
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| Bombus hortorum. Note the two yellow bands on the
thorax, this is how to tell this bee apart from B. lucorum/terrestris.
This bee also has a long head and a slimmer body than B.
terrestris/lucorum. While flying between flowers that are close together,
e.g. foxgloves the bee often keeps its long tongue extended. Lengths, queen
17-20, workers 11-16, male 14-15.More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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Similar to
queen, but usually slightly smaller. |
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Bombus
pascuorum. This queen has her tongue sheath extended, her tongue is
inside and is longer than the sheath. Although there are a few species of
ginger coloured bumblebees in the UK this is by far the most common in nearly
all areas. The hairs of the abdomen are lighter in colour to those of the
thorax, and have a few black hairs. In a very sunny summer such as 1995 the
hairs of older bees can become faded and appear beige in colour. The thorax is
always covered in hairs, with other bumblebees there is sometimes a bald patch
in the centre of the thorax. This can be caused by wear as the bees rub against
the side and roof of the nest, but this is hardly ever seen in Bombus
pascuorum. If there is a complete absence of black hairs on the abdomen,
then the bumblebee is probably not B. pascuorum, but either B. humilis or B. muscorum. Lengths, queen 16-18,
workers 10-15, male 13-14. More> |
| Queen |
Worker |
Male |
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Similar to the queen
but smaller. |
Similar to the queen, but slightly smaller. |
| *Images taken from the
excellent book Bumblebees, published by The
Richmond Publishing Company Ltd., P.O. Box 963, Slough, SL2 3RS, U.K.
rpc@richmond.co.uk |
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![[]](http://m3.moostik.net/img/?pseudo=bumblebeepages&cpt=Homework&option=invisible)
