Less Common Species of Bumblebee

Less common species of bumblebee found in the UK
common species

6 common species

Bombus terrestris/lucorum

North American species

N. American cuckoos

Is it a bumblebee?

Other bees

Looks like a bumblebee

There are about 19 different species of bumblebee (and six species of cuckoo bumblebees) found in the UK. On this page I will show you how to recognise some of the less common species, but really the best way to recognise all bumblebees is to use the keys and photographs in books.

The bumblebee body can be divided into three main parts to make identification easy. These are:
The head, which can be quite difficult to see on a foraging bee as it is deep in the flower.
The thorax which has the wings and legs attached. It is really just a box of muscles. The biggest being the flight muscles.
The abdomen which has the honey stomach for storing nectar, the sting, the wax glands and all the digestive and reproductive organs.

Males have slightly longer antennae, bigger eyes, no sting and no pollen basket.

Workers are usually smaller than the queen.

Bombus jonellus. Often found in heath and moorland. More frequent in Scotland, in southern England it is found in gardens and calcareous grassland as well as heathland. Body lengths, queen 16 mm, worker 12mm, male 12mm.

Queen

Worker

Male

Same as queen

Bombus ruderatus Workers can be intermediate or pale, males tend to be pale. Now found in just a few sites in England, and almost extinct, however it flourishes in New Zealand where they were introduced in 1885. Prefers flower-rich areas, especially those with vetches, clover and nettle. Body lengths, queen 22 mm, worker 16 mm, male 15 mm. Prefers to nest underground.

Queen, pale form

Queen, intermediate form

Queen, dark form

Bombus ruderarius A lowland species found mainly in Southern England. Queens and workers have pollen baskets framed with reddish hairs. Males similar to Bombus lapidarius The UK status for this bumblebee is nationally scarce. Body lengths, queen 17 mm, worker 15 mm, male 13 mm. The preferred nest site is on or just below ground.

Queen

Worker

Male

Same as queen

Bombus sylvarum In UK found in only 7 sites in S. E. England. Population is declining steeply. Body lengths, queen 17 mm, worker 14 mm, male 13 mm. Preferred nest sites are on or just below the ground. Has a higher pitched buzz than other bumblebees.

Queen

Worker

Male

Same as queen

Bombus monticola A moorland species, often found pollinating bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), cowberry and cranberry. Found in declining numbers in the north and western highlands. Body lengths, queen 16 mm, worker 12 mm, male 14 mm.

Queen

Worker

Male

Same as queen.

Bombus soroeensis Prefers heathlands and uplands in the Hebrides and calcareous grassland in southern England. Is more frequent in Scotland, and declining in the south, not recorded in Ireland. Nests underground in old mammal burrows. Successful nests can have up to 150 workers. Note the break in the yellow band on the abdomen. The male has a thin line of ginger hairs between the white of the tail and black of the abdomen. Body lengths, queen 16 mm, worker, 12 mm, male 13 mm.

Queen

Worker

Male

Same as queen

Bombus distinguendus Restricted to coastal sites in Northern Scotland. Nests just below or on the ground surface. In the UK this species is listed as nationally scarce. Body lengths, queen 20 mm, worker 16 mm, male 15 mm.

Queen

Worker

Male

Similar to queen

Bombus muscorum Uncommon, prefers moorland, fen and salt marshes. Nests on ground surface. No black hairs on abdomen. Population has declined, and it is now very rare and found on a few Hebridean islands. Body lengths, queen 18 mm, worker 14 mm, male 14 mm. The preferred nest site is on or just below the ground.

Queen

Similar to queens

Bombus humilis. Restricted to southern England coastal and chalkland areas, very similar to Bombus muscorum (above), no black hairs on abdomen. The UK status of this bumblebee is local. Body lengths, queen 17 mm, worker 13 mm, male 13 mm. The preferred nest site is on or just below ground.

Queen

Similar to queens

Bombus subterraneus Declared extinct in 2000. Rare, restricted to S. England on flower-rich heathland and grassland, however it flourishes in New Zealand where it was introduced in 1885 . Nesting below the surface. This bumblebee is also found in New Zealand on the shingle margins of large lakes.

Queen

Male

Bombus hypnorum. First recorded in the UK in 2001 in Hampshire. Now found infrequently in southern England as far north as Hertfordshire. Not yet widely established. It is easy to recognise as it has a ginger thorax and a black abdomen with white tip. It has been most commonly found in gardens, and often nests in bird nest boxes. The queen may have some yellow hairs on her abdomen. Males can have some yellow hairs on the face. Body lengths, queen 18 mm, worker 14 mm, male 16 mm. Queens are known to have multiple matings, although genetic studies have show that most of the resulting offspring have the genes of a single male.

Queen

Worker

Male

Similar to queen, but smaller

Similar to 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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