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Bilberry bumblebee

Bombus monticola

Basic Information

Common name: Bilberry bumblebee
Scientific name: Bombus monticola

Two lemon-yellow bands, HUGE red tail.

Found in upland moors and grasslands.

Classification

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

Keynotes

  • Small round bees

  • Males have fluffier yellow faces than females

  • Big red tail covers over half the abdomen but colour can fade

  • Rare where there is no bilberry

  • Host to Forest cuckoo bumblebee

Nest Information

  • Surface (under heather and vegetation) or just beneath ground

  • 1 cycle per year

  • April - September

  • Small: 50 - 100 workers

Distribution

  • Wales; Scotland; north and south-west England

  • Like 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

Short tongue. Loves bilberries and blueberries.

  • Bramble

  • Figwort

  • Gorse

  • Raspberries

  • Scabious

  • Thistle

  • Trefoils

  • Wild thyme

  • Willows

🌼

Bilberry

🌼

Clover

Heather

Heather

Calluna vulgaris