Ruderal Bumblebee

Description:

Also known as Large Garden Bumblebee, this specimen was about 2 cm in length. Basic color is black, but with three clearly separated buff colored stripes (two on thorax, separated by a black segment; and one on upper abdomen). The tail, or the last two-three segments are white to whitish.

Habitat:

Widespread and common species in Europe, favoring meadows and grasslands with large number of flowering species. Here, found feeding on red clover flowers on a meadow in a local park. The park itself is in rural part of the valley of lake Geneva, just in between Jura and Alps mountains ranges.

Notes:

This species of Bumble-bee is very close to B. hortorum and it's very difficult to chose between the two - however, B. hortorum is said to have a very thin second buff line on thorax... (This criterion is not very accurate, as differences exists among individuals...) And B. ruderatus is more commonly associated with red clover - once again, not exclusively; so...