Bumblebee

[Toby]

not sure which species this is - White on thorax and abdomen, no yellow present:



Richmond Pk

[Africa]

Probably a make cuckoo bumblebee, hard to tell from the angle though!

[Geoff F]

Difficult and probably impossible to tell from that angle alone as there are so many possibilities.

My guess, going by a rather long face, would be a well worn Bombus pascuorum but you are in the right area for Bombus hypnorum if that is a very white tail.

Any other photos, even poor ones might help.

[JRsbugs]

I doubt Bombus hypnorum would be that bleached, besides this bee has a definite collar at the top of the thorax.

Using powers of deduction, first it is a male as I can see 13 antennal segments. We can rule out B. lucorum as it has yellow hairs on the face. Unlikely to be Bombus hortorum, the face doesn't look terribly long (that can be deceiving!) and I think we would be seeing some pale hairs sticking out in the middle region.

I have had Bombus vestalis males around recently and they are not very faded, also have a very round small face.

Gut instinct tells me it isn't Bombus terrestris.

If I could see the tail end I would be more certain, but the only male bee I have seen that could fit and was very faded is Bombus sylvestris but that was 16th June.

Janet