Bombus pratorum are relatively small bees and have short tongues. Consequently they are rarely found on vetches but can manage to forage on white clover, lavender, sage, allium, cotoneaster, thistles and other daisy type flowers.

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.

The workers are smaller versions of the queen (above) with a whitish tail, but the abdominal yellow hairs can vary from being completely absent to being as abundant as on the queen. The males (right and below) have the greatest abundance of yellow hairs.