Bumblebee ID

[sebastianbawn]

Found in Bristol. Approx 15mm in length? Probably the smallest bumblebee I have ever encountered!!

[sebastianbawn]

Just thinking out loud, can anyone confirm this is a female worker Bombus terrestris?

[runnerwill]

That'd be a Bombus pratorum worker, they can be ridiculously small sometimes.

[JRsbugs]

Although I can't see the tail, it does look like B. terrestris.

Workers vary in size but 15mm is not so small, there are much smaller than these as runnerwill suggested, B. pratorum can be very small.

Janet

[runnerwill]

Hmm may have been a bit hasty earlier, this probably is terrestris, as Janet says a view of the tail is the key thing, terrestris will be buff/white, pratorum is orange/red.

[sebastianbawn]

Thank you both. I didnt get a tail shot, typical! But I value your expertise, many thanks.