Two more southerly bumblebees: becoming commoner in the north? 1 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bumblebee Buff-tailed workers are almost iden B. lapidarius Red-tailed males look similar to the monticola B. terrestris (2) tell the difference? . (3) The very large(1) queens are distinctive. , a scarce upland bee in Caithness & Sutherland—canand you Bumblebees of tical to White-tailedRed-tailed workers. Caithness & Sutherland Blaeberry Bumblebee 3 Gypsy Cuckoo Bumblebee Bombus bohemicus Bumblebee Conservation Trust B. www.bumblebeeconservation.org female Invades the nests of the White-tailed Bumblebee. There are no workers. School of Biological & Environmental Sciences, male Cuckoo bumblebees lack the distinctive University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA Bumblebee facts ‘pollen baskets’ of the other bumblebees. • There are currently 24 bumbleb 18 of these in Scotland. • The Short-haired Bumblebee wa declared extinct in 2000. • Nearly all are declining. Some are nowee very species rare. in the UK, with • Yellow, with a black They need flower-rich habitat from spring to autumn. band between the wings. • s last seen in 1988, and UK Priority Species You can help in your garden or on your land. UK Priority Species The Great Yellow Bumblebee was once widespread over the parts of North and West Scotla coastal parts of Caithness & Sutherland and is seen mainly from June to August UK, butBombus is now founddistinguendus only in nd. It is present in a few Saving the Sound of Summer!Have you seen this bee?! bumblebee declines, join the Bumb . To support our work and help reverse UK charity number 1115634 lebee Conservation TrustImages today! not to scale Confusing ginger bees! Bumblebees with white tails . iity iior Pr UK es ecii Sp On some (!) extra yellow hairs are present ahead of the main yellow band. male Moss Carder Bee Common Carder Bee White-tailed Bumblebee Broken-belted Bumblebee Bombus muscorum Bombus pascuorum Bombus lucorum Bombus soroeensis Problematic as the Common Carder Found almost everywhere, and Found almost everywhere. Males Another difficult one to identify! bee is very similar, though can be very hard to tell from the Moss have yellow faces and can have two Found on moorland but doesn’t learned with patience and practice! Carder Bee in mainland or several yellow bands. emerge until June. Found on coastal, flower-rich Scotland and often warmer- grassland and on heather moorland. coloured than shown here. Top tip. Bumblebee queens and workers collect pollen on special face face structures on the hind legs, the ‘pollen baskets’. These have few hairs, and slope inwards a bit from the edges. male As a result they often Early Bumblebee Garden Bumblebee Heath Bumblebee look black and shiny— Bombus pratorum Bombus hortorum Bombus jonellus easier to see the bigger A small bumblebee, often common in the bee! - Short, round face -Long face gardens. Workers can be tiny and - Short tongue -Very long tongue! have the second yellow band missing. Watch out for The bright males are one of the bumblebees collecting N.B. Be careful when catching bumblebees for a closer look. Queen and first to be seen (from June). pollen today! worker bumblebees can sting, but rarely do unless handled roughly or disturbed at the nest. .