HYMENOPTERA > APOCRITA | Aculeata > APOIDEA > Apidae

The large, rather fat bumblebees with a conspicuous pair of orangey-yellow bands and a buff-coloured tail that are frequently seen during the early spring, and often again later in the year when the second generation emerge, are queens of this species. They have a narrow collar, which is usually a shade or so darker than the second band across tergite 2. The tail is typically pale buff, but can vary from off-white to entirely tawny. It is never pure white as in Bombus lucorum. The smaller workers resemble the queens, but tend to have the collar and abdominal band brighter yellow, and a paler, more whitish coloured tail that is brownish tinged where it meets the black hairs. They can be very difficult to separate from white-tailed Bombus lucorum species. The males are of similar size and appearance, but with a darker, dirty white to buff tail with a more distinct buff-coloured transitional zone. They have entirely black-haired heads, which make them easily separable from the previously described Bombus lucorum males that have extensively yellow-haired heads.    

Bombus terrestris is a common and widespread species that can be found almost anywhere. It forages on many different plants from spring-blossoming shrubs and flowers, to thistle and brambles in the summer, right through to ivy later in the year. However, being short-tongued they generally avoid deeper long-tubed flowers, although they may be observed biting through the base in order to rob nectar.

Nesting normally occurs underground with large colonies that often include in excess of 500 individuals. Workers normally start appearing from late April with males and new queens from mid to late May. There are usually two generations with queens from the second brood seen during late summer and early autumn, possibly starting a third, winter-active generation.