Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Description:

Red-tailed bumblebees are mostly coloured black, the hind-quarters are auburn red though. Male exemplars feature a yellow band on their chest. An average colony consists of about 100 to 200 worker bees. Red-tailed bumblebees prefer the nectar of various species of clover and deadnettle.

Habitat:

Their nests are built in cairns or walls, which explains the literal meanings of their common names in various Germanic languages: "Stone bumblebee" (cf. German: Steinhummel, Swedish: Stenhumla). They are also found though in the straw of stables or in abandoned birds' nests. Red-tailed bumblebees rank among the most common and most recognized bumblebees of Central Europe, but there are rarer species of similar appearance.