Is this a cuckoo-bee?

[Sinaves]

Hi,

I saw this bee in August and it seems to fit the description of Barbut's cuckoo-bee Bombus barbutellus of a scruffy bee looking like B. hortorum, but with a few yellow hairs on it's head and being able to see its shiny abdomen through its hair.



It also says it's not particularly common, which whenever I read this, tends to mean I have wrongly identified it...

Please could somebody either confirm my identification, or tell me its an old scruffy B. hortorum.

Thanks

Ed

[Geoff F]

To my eyes (which usually seem to miss the obvious) your bee's wings look too pale and I think it has pollen basket hairs on the rear leg; which would rule out a Cuckoo.

The middle abdominal band appears to be too yellow and bright for B. barbutellus in particular.

I'm not quite sure of the ID from that angle but I would be tempted to say a rather scruffy B. lucorum if there is one yellow band on the abdomen or B. hortorum if the yellow band is split between the thorax and abdomen.

It could even be a faded B. terrestris. It can be a bit difficult to say for sure without clear photos from a couple of suitable angles.

But wait for one of the bumblebee experts to give another opinion.

[JRsbugs]

It's most likely a male Bombus hortorum, if you have any pics of the face it should be long. B. lucorum and terrestris don't (as a general rule!) have the yellow band at the thorax bottom and the abdominal band is on the second tergite.

Janet

[Red Squirrel]

Please forgive my butting in. I took this picture of a bee and identified it as a cuckoo bee but I'm beginning to doubt it now. Could anyone tell me please.

[JRsbugs]

Hi Red Squirrel,

yours looks like a very washed out Bombus lucorum to me. Some B. terrestris can look very similar though!

Janet

[Sinaves]

Thank you everybody who has contributed to this post. I am beginning to realise that bumblebees are a difficult group to identify. One thing which would help my identification skills would be the ability to spot the pollen basket (which I thought I could do but I've realised I can't) so I'll look that up, and I'll keep persisiting with the bumblebees and hopefully I'll eventually recognise something that is different to the usual suspects.

Ed

[Red Squirrel]

Thanks Janet.

[eucera]

Originally Posted by Sinaves

.... I am beginning to realise that bumblebees are a difficult group to identify.
Ed

You are not the first "Ed" to realise this! Edward Saunders, the leading hymenopetrist of the late 19th Century is in complete agreement

“The species of Bombus are exceedingly difficult to distinguish apart, the colour of the pubescence varies so greatly in different specimens of some species that it is wise to rely only on structure as a character in the discrimination of species; these characters are often very obscure, and difficult to appreciate”
Edward Saunders (1896)

[Geoff F]

If the pollen baskets are full, then obviously, you can rule out males or Cuckoos so they are always worth looking for, even if they aren't there!

In theory, females should have some shiny patches on their legs where these have been rubbed against the baskets. But in reality, this can be hard to spot, even with high quality photos.

Darker wings are always a clue to a Cuckoo Bee. But just a clue as the angle of light can play tricks.

[Sinaves]

Thanks Eucera, that's really interesting. It's always very gratifying when we hear we today shared a certain difficulty with someone separated from us by more than a century, especially an expert. It certainly reduces feelings of incompetency.

I'm grateful for the tips Geoff. I'm going to see if I can spot those shiny leg patches as that would be very useful to be able to do. And if I see a bumblebee with particularly dark wings I'll know I'm on to something.

Ed