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Brown-banded carder bee

Bombus humilis

Basic Information

Common name: Brown-banded carder bee
Scientific name: Bombus humilis

Dark ginger thorax and brown 'belt'.

Found: south coasts of England and Wales.

Classification

Bee TypeBumblebee
StatusRare
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionLocalised
Tail ColourGinger Tail

Keynotes

  • Small, fluffy, all ginger.

  • Dark thorax has pale 'halo' around edge

  • A few black hairs at wing base

  • Late flying bee - forages into Autumn

  • In south, more likely to be a Brown-banded rather than Moss carder bee

Nest Information

  • Surface (in long grass), underground at times

  • Covers nest with grass and moss

  • Usually 1 cycle per year

  • April - October

  • Small: about 50 workers

Distribution

  • Mainly south coast of England and Wales

  • Habitat: heathland, flower-rich meadows and grasslands, coastal dunes, flowery brownfield sites

Castes

QUEEN

May
QUEEN diagram
No Photo

  1. Ginger

  2. Dark ginger

  3. Dark band

  4. Ginger

Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:Multiple ginger bands, All Yellow/Ginger
Head:Ginger Head

WORKER

June
WORKER diagram
No Photo

  1. Ginger

  2. Dark ginger

  3. Dark band

  4. Ginger

Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:All Yellow/Ginger, Multiple ginger bands
Head:Ginger Head

MALE

June
MALE diagram
No Photo

  1. Ginger

  2. Dark ginger

  3. Dark band

  4. Ginger

Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:All Yellow/Ginger, Multiple ginger bands
Head:Ginger Head

Flower Preferences

Long tongue. Loves clover!

  • Cat's-ear

  • Dead nettles

  • Perennial peas

  • Hawk's-beard

  • Knapweed

  • Red clover

  • Roses

  • Vetches

  • Wild basil

🌼

Bird's-foot trefoil

🌼

Honeysuckle

🌼

Scabious