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Bumblebees of Caithness and Sutherland

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Bumblebees of Caithness and Sutherland A guide to bumblebees of Caithness and Sutherland Bumblebees of Caithness and Sutherland www.bumblebeeconservation.org Saving the sound of summer Bumblebees of Caithness and Sutherland Bumblebees with white tails Great Yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) UK 1 2 priority Now found only in north and west species Scotland. Caithness and Sutherland support the last remaining populations of this bumblebee on the mainland. It is found in habitats rich in wild flowers and gardens with bee friendly plants. Mustard yellow It can be seen between June and bumblebee with a White-tailed bumblebee Garden bumblebee¹ Heath bumblebee² August. distinct black band (Bombus lucorum) (Bombus hortorum) (Bombus jonellus) Illustration: Queen between the wings Found almost Garden bumblebee and Heath bumblebee share everywhere. Males have the same banding pattern, but Garden bumblebee a yellow face the same as has a long ‘horse-like’ face and male Garden Ginger/yellow bumblebees male Heath bumblebees bumblebees do not have a yellow face. Illustration: Queen and Male Illustration: Queen Illustration: Queen Moss carder bee Common carder bee (Bombus muscorum) (Bombus pascuorum) Difficult to identify as it looks Found almost like the Common carder everywhere and often bee. Requires flower rich warmer-coloured than grassland and shown here. UK heather moorland. priority Illustration: Queen Illustration: Queen species Bumblebees with red/orange tails Buff-tailed bumblebee Broken-belted Gypsy cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) bumblebee (Bombus bohemicus) (Bombus soroeensis) 1 2 Increasingly common in Four cuckoo bumblebees the far north. Workers Found on moorland or occur in Scotland. Gypsy look very similar to White- forest edges. Queens cuckoo bumblebee invades tailed bumblebees, but can be seen June to the nests of White-tailed with a ‘coffee stain’ of July, which is later than bumblebee. White-tailed queens. brownish hairs at the top Illustration: Queen of the white tail. Illustration: Queen Illustration: Queen and Early bumblebee Red-tailed bumblebee¹ Bilberry bumblebee² Worker Easily confused (Bombus pratorum) (Bombus lapidarius) (Bombus monticola) with White-tailed Common small bee seen Not regularly recorded in the area. Look for Red-tailed bumblebee. from March to August. bumblebees turning up in lowland gardens and the Generally smaller, with extra yellow Illustration: Queen and Male Billberry in upland heaths. hairs ahead of the Illustration: Queen and Male Illustration: Queen main yellow band. Who are we? In some areas of Sutherland, you may also spot the following The Trust was founded in 2006 bumblebee: due to serious concerns about the ‘plight of the bumblebee’. We aim to increase the number and distribution of bumblebees and have a vision for a world where bumblebees are thriving and valued. Why conserve bumblebees? Bumblebees are the sight and Forest cuckoo bumblebee sound of summer. They are very (Bombus slyvestris) important pollinators of many of our wildflowers and crops. Their Forest cuckoo bumblebees invade pollination of crops is worth many the nests of Early bumblebees millions to the UK economy. and probably Heath and Bilberry Sadly, bumblebees are struggling bumblebees as well. Males are easier to survive and need our help. to identify as they have a fringe of orange hair at the end of the tail. Why have bumblebees Illustration: Queen and Male declined? Our native bumblebees are in decline, this is largely due to the The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is loss of over 97% of our wildflower a registered charity (England & Wales meadows. Two bumblebees 1115634 / Scotland SC042830). Company registration number 05618710 (England have become extinct nationally & Wales). Registered Office: Bumblebee while others such as the Great Conservation Trust, Lakeside Centre, Yellow bumblebee are of great Lakeside Country Park, Wide Lane, conservation concern. Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 5PE. www.bumblebeeconservation.org Red clover (Trifolium Photo credit: Neil Cowie pratense) A favoured Great Yellow food plant Improve your Bee ID skills with a new app. Search Bee ID in the App Store. Follow us on: May 2019. BBCT119. Copyright 2019 ©. All rights reserved. Printed by Baker goodchild. Copyright 2019 ©. May 2019. BBCT119..
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