HYMENOPTERA > APOCRITA | Aculeata > APOIDEA > Apidae

The Common Carder Bee is a highly variable species with individuals seen locally here in the south usually having a generally darker and more vibrant appearance than the paler forms found further north. Typical queens have a uniform brownish-chestnut to deep ginger coloured pile on top of their thorax that becomes beige to creamy white down the sides, and an abdomen which has a mixture of pale and black hairs that in certain light gives the appearance of stripes. Usually, there is no differentiation between the tail and the rest of the abdomen, although in some individual it may be dull orange. Both the workers, which can be much smaller, and the slimmer males resemble the queens, but have a longer body pile. The variation in appearance can make separation from similar, although much scarcer, species such as the Brown-banded Carder Bee [Bombus humilis] and the Moss Carder Bee [Bombus muscorum] quite challenging.

Queens can usually be seen from early to mid-March, followed by workers from late April, and males and new queens towards the end of May. Apart from winter-active Bombus terrestris populations, this species has the longest flight period of any of our bumblebees with all castes likely to be seen right through to the autumn, often to late October or even into the beginning of November. As with all carder bees, nesting usually occurs on the surface amongst dense vegetation such as tussocky grass or under shrubs, but occasionally they may use old nest boxes or holes in trees. Colony size is variable, but typically there are around 60-150 workers. The species is common and widespread occurring in a variety of habitats, such as woodlands or along hedgerows, as well as in gardens.