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Cuckoo Bumblebee

Bombus bohemicus

Photo by MatthewFuller
Published on Project Noah
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51.2875, -0.254414

Field Notes

Description:

Is this a bumble-bee?

Its tail is certainly yellow maybe a tiny bit white on the very tip

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (8)

Just had another look at this and I am sure it is a cuckoo bee. Either B. vestalis or B. bohemicus. I would go with vestalis as it was taken in the south. The reason I think it is a cuckoo is the yellow band just before the white on the tail. You can see it on the second photo.
Yeah it isn't easy even when you get them under a microscope to be honest. Name badges sound like a very good idea. :)
It's tough trying to figure out exactly which bumblebee this is, its tail is more yellow than those illustrated, should have a name-badge
A good guide for the most common 6 species of bumblebee is on the Natural History Museum website. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/bombus/bumblebeeid.html
It is either a bumblebee or a cuckoo bee but both are Bombus spp. I am leaning toward Bombus pratorum as the second pic looks like the end of the abdomen is redish. Also the pollen baskets suggest bumblebee rather than cuckoo.
It may be difficult to look at these two views to ID to the species, but look at this page: http://www.bumblebee.org/quickGuide.htm and let us know what you think.
Photographed
PublishedMay 14, 2011

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