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Field Cuckoo Bumblebee

Bombus campestris

Basic Information

Common name: Field Cuckoo Bumblebee
Scientific name: Bombus campestris

Two yellow bands. Yellow tail.

More rare as you move North.

Classification

Bee TypeBumblebee
StatusLess Common
Cuckoo StatusCuckoo
DistributionLocalised
Tail ColourYellow Tail

Keynotes

  • Only cuckoo bee with a yellow tail

  • Males very variable, from almost all yellow to all black

  • Females have black 'V' in yellow tail

  • Always has shiny abdomen, often have dark wings

  • No pollen baskets

Nest Information

  • Uses nests of Carder bumblebees

  • Surface, in tall grass, under hedges, woodland edges

  • 1 or 2 cycles per year

  • Numbers unknown

Distribution

  • Widespread in England, Wales; rare and coastal in Scotland and Ireland

  • Habitat: flower-rich habitats, urban, woodlands, gardens, hedgerows, meadows

Castes

MALE

June
No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Boxy, black

  2. Collar, rear

  3. Black

  4. Yellow - large

Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail, Buff tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Front Band / Yellow Tail, Multiple ginger bands, Multiple yellow bands
Head:Black Head, Boxy

FEMALE

April
No Diagram
No Photo

  1. Boxy, black

  2. Collar, rear

  3. Black

  4. Yellow - large

Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail, Buff tail, Black Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band, All Black
Abdomen:
Head:Black Head, Boxy

Flower Preferences

Short tongue. Likes white clover and knapweeds.

  • Bramble

  • Dandelions

  • Clover

  • Ground-ivy

  • Hawthorn

  • Knapweeds

  • Scabious

  • Teasel

  • Thistles

Bramble

Bramble

Rubus fruticosus

🌼

Clover

Knapweed

Knapweed

Centaurea