''Bombus pascuorum'', the common carder bee, is a species of

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

present in most of Europe in a wide variety of habitats such as

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s, waste ground,

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

es and

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

s, roads, and field margins, as well as gardens and parks in urban areas and forests and forest edges. It is similar in appearance to '' Bombus muscorum'', and is replacing the species in Northern Britain''.''

Description

The thorax of the common carder bee is either yellowish or reddish-brown in color. The hair of the first four abdominal segments are gray in color, while the hair of the fifth and sixth

terga A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'ma ...

are yellowish or reddish-brown in color. The body length of queens ranges from in length. The body length of female workers ranges from in length. The body length of males range from in length. Queens measure from wing to wing. Workers measure from wing to wing. Drones measure from wing to wing. The head of the common carder bee is of medium length and the snout is long compared to other species of bumblebee. The snout of the queen ranges between in length. The snout of workers range from in length. The snout of drones range from in length.

Colony cycle

Queens appear between early April and mid-May, and workers appear at the end of April/early May to mid-October. Young queens and drones can be found from mid-August to late October. When queens search for suitable places to nest, they fly just above the vegetation, for example on forest edges, investigating cavities such as holes in the ground or niches in dead wood and grass. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

s can be constructed above or under ground, preferably in old mouse nests, but also in bird nests, barns, and sheds. Nest-building proceeds as follows. The queen collects moss and grass to form a small, hollow sphere whose walls are partly bonded with wax and sealed off. Within this is formed a large bowl of brown wax of about 5 mm in diameter, which is filled with

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

. Thereafter, five to 15

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are deposited, and the cell closed. Another 20-mm-high cup is then filled with nectar, thus serving as its own food reserve for bad weather days. After three to five days, the larvae hatch to feed on the pollen. After about a week, the larvae are mature. The adult worker bees, owing to the initially poor supply situation, are relatively small, reaching only about half the body length of the

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and lacking functioning ovaries. Later-hatching bees are much larger. The additional nesting and brood care is dedicated solely to the queen, which no longer leaves the nest. From August, rarely before, the first fully developed females, together with drones, are ready. Drones hatch from unfertilized eggs. In August the ''B. pascuorum'' nest, with a diameter of up to , reaches a maximum population size from 60 to 150 individuals. Shortly after this peak, the population quickly decreases. With the queen the entire nest dies, usually in September. Occasionally, individuals survive until October/November. Only the last-hatched females survive, to mate with males. Then they fly in search of a safe place for hibernation.

Foraging

The common carder bee is polylectic, feeding on a variety of wild flowers, including nettles (

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

), genuine motherwort (

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

), Himalayan balsam (

Balsaminaceae The Balsaminaceae (commonly known as the balsam family) are a family of dicotyledonous plants, comprising two genera: '' Impatiens'', which consists of over 1000 species, and ''Hydrocera'', consisting of 1 species. The flowering plants may be an ...

), cabbage thistle, knapweed (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

vetch ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

es, red and white clover (

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

), monkshood (

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

), fruit trees, etc.

Gallery

File:Bombus_pascuorum_Zurich_front.jpg File:Bombus_pascuorum_Zurich_lateral.jpg File:Bourdon des champs Face.jpg File:Bourdon des champs global.jpg File:ID15342 - Sansebie - Eucera longicornis - ♂ - Åkerhumle (lys) - Bombus pascuorum.webm, Foraging behavior of Eucera longicornis (male) and Bombus pascuorum in Norway

References

Goulson, D. et al. The impacts of predators and parasites on wild bumblebee colonies. The Royal Entomological Society. 2017
{{Taxonbar, from=Q267532 Bumblebees Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1763 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli