Bumblebee id help please

[threadspider]

A great afternoon for spotting bees in the garden-the lavender was covered in Bumblebees, including this one.
I know it is not a B. lapidarius male-there were plenty of those. The thorax stripe was dull bronze yellow and on the abdomen two similarly coloured half bands, together with the reddish tail. No yellow face. Reddish hairs on the legs. It might be a cuckoo bee or a male, or possibly both ! But from the sources I have referred to, I think it might be Bombus ruderarius, but would welcome input. I think the pics cover all the angles
Judith

[Geoff F]

At first glance, I thought it was just another B. pratorum male but the black face hairs scuppers that idea; and the same goes for B. lapidarius.

Which possibly leaves a rather brightly coloured B. ruderarius male. But these are restricted to a rather narrow belt through some of the southern counties. So are you in a suitable area?

I think this is one for the bumblebee specialists though.

[Matt Smith]

This one is a slightly faded Bombus rupestris male - a lot about at the moment.


This one is a Bombus lapidarius male, albeit with a bit of extra yellow on the abdomen, it does happen sometimes.

[threadspider]

Thank you for your input Geoff and Matt.
Geoff-I am in North Wiltshire-I think it is an area where ruderarius is possible. But as you say, it is probably not very likely it can be positively identified. It was clearly different from the B. lapidarius males on the same lavender-longer and slenderer and clearly without the yellow face.
Matt- I wondered about rupestris but are the wings of this specimen dark enough? I have a couple of shots where they show as clear.
Judith

[Matt Smith]

The wings are dark enough, it also has red hairs on all of the legs, which is another useful field character.

B.ruderarius males are, in my experience, not nearly as bright, the yellow on them is very faint. THe species can be found as far north as the west of Scotland, it is not restricted to southern counties of England.

[threadspider]

Thanks Matt-every bit of help greatly appreciated.
Judith