Red-tailed Bumblebee

Bombus lapidarius

Common & widespread in Britain.

Flies from April-September.

Worker Females and the queen look similar, though the queen is much larger than the worker Females.

Males typically have the red and black coloration with a yellow band around the abdomen and yellow markings on the face.

Further, B. lapidarius tend to have a medium-sized proboscis, which is significant in that it allows the species to be a good pollinator.

These Bees do not typically form extensive or complex colonies.

Nests usually only contain a few hundred bees at most, with an average colony consisting of about 100 to 200 worker Bees.