ID of bumblebees?

[OckViewer]

Hello,

I saw two mating bumblebees yesterday, they were next to an uncut meadow in South Oxfordshire.





Having studied the bumblebee identification guide by Edwards & Jenner, they seem to be either bombus lapidarius or a cuckoo bombus rupestris.
Unfortunately the legs aren't really identifyable and Edwards & Jenner say "if in doubt, it is useful to check the male genitalia" - which wasn't really an option. So I'd welcome any suggestions from WAB.

Many Thanks

Richard

[Kate_Izzy]

I know male lapidarius have red hairs on the legs although they tend to have a yellow 'wig' on their heads which isn't obvious in that pic - so I'm no help
You didn't get a pic from above by any chance did you?

I'm thinking cuckoo bee due to the colouring of the male and because the wings on the female look dark

[OckViewer]

Hi Kate,

Thanks for your reply, I do indeed have one from above, not sure on the quality though:



Richard

[barquar]

is it a Red Tail Bumble bee Bombus Lapidarius, All black except for tip of abdomen. I am not an expert so could be very wrong hope not.
Barquar

[eucera]

No question that these are Bombus rupestris. Unusually, the queen here has a yellowish collar (a feature that is generally rare in the UK but seems to be quite regularly seen this year).

[Kate_Izzy]

Here's a picture (terribly out of focus I'm afraid) of a male lapidarius that I took yesterday - as you can see it has yellow on the shoulders and also on the top of the head - so as your pic from above shows no yellow at all then I'm going with rupestris for yours (or a female! )

[OckViewer]

Thanks for the replies, very interesting and useful to get another perspective.