Basic Information
Common name: Ruderal Bumblebee
Scientific name: Bombus ruderatus
A big velvety bee with neat yellow bands.
An all black bee is often a Ruderal.
Classification
Bee TypeBumblebee
StatusRare
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionLocalised
Tail ColourWhite Tail
Keynotes
• Very variable in appearance
• Neat 'short' hair
• Thorax bands (when present) are equal in width
• White tail sometimes goes up the sides of the abdomen and can have a yellow hue
• Looks like a neat version of a Garden bumblebee
• Is also called the 'Large garden bumblebee'
• Intermediate form has thin yellow bands
• Dark form is all black
Nest Information
• Underground; likes old rodent nests
• Usually one cycle per year
• Lasts 3-4 months
• Around 150 workers
Distribution
- Rare and localised to south of England, Lincolnshire and Midlands
- Occasionally seen in Wales
- Not currently found in Scotland
- Likes open wild flower meadows and margins, river valleys and brownfield habitats
- Occasionally seen in woodland and urban spaces
Castes
QUEEN
AprilNo Diagram
No Photo
Yellow collar
Yellow rear band
Yellow front band
White tail
Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail, White Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Front Band / White Tail, Front Band / Yellow Tail
Head:Black Head
QUEEN
No Diagram
No Photo
All black
Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:All Black
Head:Black Head
WORKER
No Diagram
No Photo
All black
Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:All Black
Head:Black Head
WORKER
MayNo Diagram
No Photo
Yellow collar
Yellow rear band
Yellow front band
White tail
Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail, White Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Front Band / White Tail, Front Band / Yellow Tail
Head:Black Head
MALE
JuneNo Diagram
No Photo
Yellow collar
Yellow rear band
Yellow front band
White tail
Tail:Ginger/Yellow tail, White Tail
Thorax:Yellow collar and rear band
Abdomen:Front Band / White Tail, Front Band / Yellow Tail
Head:Black Head
MALE
No Diagram
No Photo
All black
Tail:Black Tail
Thorax:All Black
Abdomen:All Black
Head:Black Head
Flower Preferences
Love red clover.
- Bear's britches
- Bird's-foot-trefoils
- Borage
- Comfrey
- Everlasting peas
- Foxgloves
- Knapweeds
- Red clover
- Teasel
- Thistles
- Toadflax
- Vetches
- Viper's bugloss
- White dead-nettle
- Woundwort
- Yellow iris