Bumble Bee for ID

Anzu · #1 (**permalink**) 20-05-2011, 01:49 PM

Hia everyone, another bumble-bee for ID.

I found this one on the grass of my garden looking a bit groggy but able to crawl around. I took some photos then put it on a plant which all my bumble-bees seem to love where it began to feed (photo 3).

Found in a Norfolk garden and was about 14mm from head to tail.

I first thought Bombus pascuorum but noticed it had pale pollen baskets (photo 2)? Or maybe I'm just crazy, please if you ID it explain why you came to that conclusion.

Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Photo 3:

Thank you for looking!

eucera · #2 (**permalink**) 20-05-2011, 02:54 PM

Bombus pascuorum. The black hairs on the abdomen and brown tail are characteristic

Anzu · #3 (**permalink**) 20-05-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucera

Bombus pascuorum. The black hairs on the abdomen and brown tail are characteristic

Thank you eucera, are pollen baskets ever useful for identifying bumble-bee species?

eucera · #4 (**permalink**) 20-05-2011, 05:29 PM

Yes. The absence of them in female bumbles tells you that you have a cuckoo-bumble, and in the otherwise similar B. lapidarius and B. ruderarius the hairs framing them are coloured differently in workers and queens (red in B. ruderarius and black in B. lapidarius)