Buff-tailed Early bumblebee Has a dirty/golden Bombus pratorum Queens and yellow collar near the males have head and one on the two strong abdomen. The queen’s yellow bands, tail is an off white/buff but workers colour which can sometimes appear often only have one. The orange. The workers have a white tail is dark orange-red, tail with a subtle buff line but fades over time. The separating the tail from the rest of Early bumblebee is the abdomen. Males have black particularly small. Males facial hair, as opposed to yellow, have a broad yellow collar and a buff-tinged tail. and yellow hair on the Male Queen face. Worker/male Queen Worker

White-tailed bumblebee Red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius

Queens, workers and The queens and males have a yellow workers are band on the thorax and completely black, on the abdomen. On a except for an orange fresh specimen, the tail -red tail. The males is a bright white and the look similar, but have some yellow bands are a bright lemon- yellow hair on the face and yellow colour. The males have yellow thorax. Females are hair on their head, and extra tufts of distinguished from the much yellow hair on the thorax and rarer Red-shanked carder bee abdomen. by having black hairs on the Male Queen/worker Male Queen/worker hind leg. Common carder bee Tree bumblebee Bombus pascuorum

Queens, workers and males all have a black head, brown-ginger thorax, black Queens, workers and males are abdomen with a white tail. The almost completely brown or proportion of white on the tail does vary ginger. However, the shade significantly but is always present. This varies significantly, depending species was first found in the UK in on the location. 2001, but is now found throughout Some have abdomens which are very dark, most of England and Wales. It prefers while the abdomens of others can be quite to nest above ground, often inhabiting light. It is the only common UK bumblebee bird boxes. that is mostly brown or ginger.

Queen/worker/male Queen/worker/male

Garden bumblebee Heath bumblebee Bombus jonellus The same pattern is Similar to the Garden shared by queen, worker and male: bumblebee, which also three yellow bands has three yellow (at the front and rear stripes and a white of the thorax and a third tail. However, the face band at the front of the abdomen). The tail is a of the Heath bumblebee is round and clean white colour. The face is distinctly long, the bee is smaller. This species is not differentiating it from other species with common everywhere, but can be quite similar banding, such as the Heath bumblebee. common in Ireland and northern It is a very long tongued species that prefers flowers with deep tubes. where it has an orange/ buff tail. Despite its name, it is not only found in heath habitats. Queen/worker/male Queen/worker/male