Rather large Bee

[cendoubleu]

Whilst visting Monks Wood and the adjacent Watts Wood last sunday (just outside Lincoln) I saw a rather large bee feeding on Knapweed. It was 'fluffy' like a bumble bee but not round. Instead it was long and very heavy looking. As far as I could tell, it was black all over apart from what appreared to be a pale orange/red tip to the rump. Overall length looked in excess of 1 inch. I couldn't get a closer look as not only was there Knapweed but quite a lot of nettles and I wasn't dressed appropriately for a 'bondu bash'.
Could anyone shed light on this species from my somewhat sketchy description?

Thanks in advance

[Matt Smith]

Possibly a queen Bombus lapidarius.

[htcdude]

As Matt says sounds like B lapidarius aka Red-tailed Bumblebee

Nige

[cendoubleu]

Thanks for the info. I have seen red-tailed bumble bees before and this didn't appear to be one of these unless it was the angle at which I was viewing it. It appeared much more elongated than a bumble bee, and the coloured area on the rump appeared to be just the tip. I wish had been able to get closer to get a photograph.

[cendoubleu]

Could it have been Bombus ruderatus?

[eucera]

Not if the colour scheme is as described

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by cendoubleu

Could it have been Bombus ruderatus?

Perhaps you meant Bombus ruderarius? You would need to see that the female has red pollen hairs on the corbiculum. You might find this chart useful..

Bumblebees - KeyToNature