''Bombus sylvarum'', the shrill carder bee or knapweed 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 genera ...

with a wide distribution across Europe, east to the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, and north to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and southern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

Description

It is a small bumblebee;

queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

are long and female

workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

are . It is mostly pale yellowish in colour with a black band across the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

, two black bands across the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

, and an orange tip to the abdomen. It flies rapidly and queens produce a high-pitched buzz.

Behaviour

The flight period lasts from about April to September. The queen bee emerges from hibernation in the spring. She makes a

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 materi ...

on or slightly below the surface of the ground among open vegetation. An old mouse or

vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...

nest may be used. By summer, the nest may contain around 100 worker bees. Each nest requires about of suitable habitat. It occurs in herb-rich grassland where it feeds on nectar and pollen from a variety of flowers, especially ones that are complex or have long corollae. Important food plants include

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding re ...

, woundwort,

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

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 ...

, red bartsia, and narrow-leaved bird's-foot trefoil.

Status and conservation

It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and intensification of agriculture and is declining in numbers across Europe. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, it was common until the early 20th century, but is now restricted to a few small areas in southern England and south Wales. The species is included in the

United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan or (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodivers ...

. It is also an endangered species in Ireland.

Gallery

Bombus Sylvarum - Centaurea scabiosa - Keila1.jpg, Worker Bombus sylvarum - Arctium tomentosum - Keila.jpg, Worker Bombus sylvarum queen - Echium vulgare - Keila.jpg, Queen Bombus sylvarum (male) - Knautia arvensis - Keila2.jpg, Male

References

*ARKive
Shrill carder bee (''Bombus sylvarum'')
Accessed 18 December 2008. *Edwards, Mike & Martin Jenner (2005) ''Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain & Ireland'', Ocelli. .

External links

UKBAP: Shrill Carder Bee (''Bombus sylvarum'')
{{Taxonbar, from=Q927168 Bumblebees Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1761 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus