bumble be for id please

[Rambling Rob]

Hi,

I'm stuck on the id of this bumble bee - is it a Bombus lucorum?



Anyway it was having a feast on the wild thyme on Brading Down.

Thanks, Rob

[JRsbugs]

It's a cuckoo bee, could be Bombus sylvestris. Males have a browish tip to the tail end which are usually curved under, females have a noticably curved tail end without the brown tip. Unfortunately that is not visible! If you can count the antennale segments a male has 13, females 12 segments. or if you have more shots it would help.

Janet

[Rambling Rob]

Thanks Janet - I do have three more pics but they are more or less rubbish I think! I've cropped the antennae from the first shot I posted too:









Rob

[JRsbugs]

Thanks for those Rob.. I compared the antenna you cropped with a male of mine, luckily I have a shot showing the antennal segments. The 4th looks short. the 4th segment on mine is short, it seems to compare well.

Males also have a slight yellowish patch at the top edges of the white, which yours look to have. The thorax usually has a 'humped' look too so I think male B. sylvestris looks good. Yours is getting worn but it doesn't seem to fit any others, unless Stuart can put another name to it.

[Rambling Rob]

Thanks again Janet. It's not a species I've noted before. There are a lot of worn down bees about now I think. Rob