Red-tail

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Probably the most common bee in the garden at the moment is the Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) — and that's been the case for much of the summer. They're easy to identify: a furry all-black body with a distinctively eye-catching red backside. Queens, which we saw early in the season, are quite large, with some measuring more than an inch in length. Workers are considerably smaller. Mated queens emerge from hibernation in April and set about establishing a new colony. They nest underground, typically choosing an abandoned mammal tunnel (voles are a favourite) for their nest site. We've found a few colonies scattered around the garden, some in Short-tailed Vole tunnels and others in holes left by uprooted Alexanders plants. The queen's worker daughters provide food and care for the colony for the summer, and the colony will remain active as late as November. Later in the season, newly emerged queen and drones will emerge for mating flights. Once the frosts come, all but the newly-mated queens will die; the new queens hibernate overwinter. 

This is one of Britain's most widespread and abundant bumblebees, found across much of England and Wales, though less common in Scotland (where it's found only in the lowlands) and Northern Ireland (where it's largely restricted to the east). It's found virtually anywhere there are flowers to feed on, and is very regularly seen in gardens. Elsewhere in the world, it is also widespread across much of Europe. Studies have found it to be more likely to forage in higher temperatures than other species of bumblebee, which makes it important for pollination of some plants. Its long tongue also allows it to pollinate species unavailable to shorter-tongued bees. Workers are known to travel more than a mile from their colony to food sources. Like its Buff-tailed Bumblebee cousin, the Red-tailed Bumblebee is parasitised by a species of cuckoo bee. In this case, it's by the very similar-looking Red-tailed Cuckoo Bumblebee; the cuckoo queens differ only in having black, rather than translucent, wings. So far, we haven't knowingly seen any of those parasites here.

Check out that pollen basket — packed with pollen!