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Tree bumblebee

Bombus hypnorum

Basic Information

Common name: Tree bumblebee
Scientific name: Bombus hypnorum

Ginger thorax, white tail.

Found in England and Wales and moving north into Scotland.

Classification

Bee TypeBumblebee
StatusCommon
Cuckoo StatusNon-cuckoo
DistributionWidespread
Tail ColourWhite Tail

Keynotes

*Has dark form with black thorax, but always has white tail

  • Can look quite dark

  • Likes to nest high up in trees, in bird boxes and house eaves

  • Groups of males often seen flying around entrance to nest

  • Queens can hibernate in dead wood before emerging in February

Nest Information

  • Arial nesters, under roofs, in holes in trees and bird boxes. Occasionally underground in old rodent nests

  • Often 2 nest cycles per year

  • Last 2-3 months

  • Medium: around 150 workers

Distribution

  • First recorded in the UK in 2001 but now widespread and common

  • Habitat: suburban gardens, allotments and woodlands, also found in grasslands with brambles

  • Not keen on large, wide-open habitats

Castes

QUEEN

February
QUEEN diagram
No Photo

  1. Black face

  2. Ginger*

  3. Black

  4. White tail

Tail:White Tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:Black / White Tail
Head:Black Head

WORKER

March
WORKER diagram
No Photo

  1. Black face

  2. Ginger*

  3. Black

  4. White tail

Tail:White Tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:Black / White Tail
Head:Black Head

MALE

May
MALE diagram
No Photo

  1. Black face

  2. Ginger*

  3. Black

  4. White tail

Tail:White Tail
Thorax:All Ginger
Abdomen:Black / White Tail
Head:Black Head

Flower Preferences

Short tongue. Likes brambles and open roses.

  • Blackthorn

  • Brambles

  • Grape hyacinth

  • Pyracantha

  • Raspberries

  • Sallow

  • Teasel

  • Thistle

  • White dead-nettle

🌼

Ceanothus

Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster

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Roses