Back to Bees

Bilberry bumblebee

Bombus monticola

Basic Information

Common name: Bilberry bumblebee
Scientific name: Bombus monticola

Two pale yellow bands, HUGE red tail.

Found in upland moors and grasslands.

Classification

Bee TypeBumblebee
StatusLess Common
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionLocalised
Tail ColourRed Tail

Keynotes

  • Big red tail covers over half the abdomen

  • Tail colour can fade

  • Small bees - Queens are small but wide

  • Males are fluffy and have little yellow moustache!

  • Rare where there is no bilberry

  • Host to the Forest cuckoo bumblebee

Nest Information

  • On surface (in tussocky grass or under vegetation) or just below ground (e.g. old rodent nests)

  • 1 cycle per year

  • April - September

  • Around 50 workers

Distribution

  • Dartmoor, Exmoor, north and west England, Wales, Scotland

  • Likes higher ground

  • Habitat: heaths, moors, grasslands, open woodland

Castes

QUEEN

April
QUEEN diagram
No Photo

  1. Yellow face

  2. Collar & rear

  3. Black

  4. Huge red tail

Tail:Red Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Black / Red Tail
Head:Yellow Head

WORKER

May
WORKER diagram
No Photo

  1. Yellow face

  2. Collar & rear

  3. Black

  4. Huge red tail

Tail:Red Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Black / Red Tail
Head:Yellow Head

MALE

July
MALE diagram
No Photo

  1. Yellow face

  2. Collar & rear

  3. Black

  4. Huge red tail

Tail:Red Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Black / Red Tail
Head:Yellow Head

Flower Preferences

Long tongue. Loves bilberries and blueberries.

  • Bramble

  • Figwort

  • Gorse

  • Raspberries

  • Scabious

  • Thistle

  • Trefoils

  • Wild thyme

  • Willows

🌼

Bilberry

🌼

Clover

Heather

Heather

Calluna vulgaris