Garden Bumblebee

Bombus hortorum

This was a special treat when this large bee with a very long tongue (yep, bees have tongues) visited my garden, for I have not seen one since.

Sometimes called the ‘Small Garden Bumblebee’ (despite it being one of the largest species) or the ‘Long-tongued Bumblebee’, it has two yellow bands on the thorax, one yellow band on the abdomen, and a white tail. The tongue is very long (the longest of any bumblebee found in Europe, in fact), and the male has black facial hairs. A large, shaggy garden species. Sizes queen 17 to 22mm, male 13 to 15mm, worker 11 to 16mm.

The nests are usually made underground and always under cover. Queens searching for suitable nesting sites may be observed March to May. Mature nests contain around 100 workers. Barbut’s Cuckoobee (Bombus barbutellus) takes over the nests of B. hortorum, of which it looks very similar, but it is not nearly as widespread.

The males appear in June, and they are found in many habitats, especially gardens. They regularly visits foxglove (Digitalis), Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), and Dead-nettle (Lamium). A widespread and abundant species.

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June 2007, rear garden, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2007.

01/1701/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Bees, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature Photography, Photography, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Apidae, Bees, Bombus hortorum, Bumblebees, Garden Bumblebee, Hymenoptera, Insects, Macro, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 11 Comments