Cuckoo Bumblebee

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. :)

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.

Bee or bumblebee? =)