Recognising your bumblebee
Here are some helpful tips on how to recognise the most common species of bumblebees, and distinguishing your bumblebee from other bee lookalikes.
Recognising your bumblebee Compared to the honeybee and wasps, bumblebees are characterised by their hairy round bodies, relatively large size and colourful markings. Their body is divided into three main parts: the head at the front, the thorax in the middle and the abdomen at the rear (with the 'tail' at its tip). Its body is often decorated with yellow and black stripes, although some species can have red or gingery-brown on their bodies. Bumblebees can be a bit tricky to identify, as they can look very similar to one another. To get started in spotting bumblebees - and for the purpose of this survey - it will be useful to familiarise yourself with the five main colour groups of bumblebees. Each colour groups contains one or two of the common species of the female bumblebees, as well as some rarer species. Take a closer look below at the six common species of female bumblebees that you are likely to see occurring in your garden and the countryside: | Buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris One yellow band on thorax. Queens very large with a buff tail, white on workers. Short-tongued. Nests underground. | 
| | White-tailed bumblebee Bombus lucuorum One yellow band on thorax with a white tail in both queens and workers. Males have yellow hairs on its face. Short-tongued. Nests underground. | 
| | Garden bumblebee Bombus hortorum Two yellow bands on thorax with a white tail. Long-tongued. Nests underground. | 
| | Red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius Black all over with a red tail. Males have yellow hairs on its face. Medium-tongued. Nests underground. | 
| | Early bumblebee Bombus pratorum One or two yellow bands on thorax with a red tail. Males have yellow hairs on its face. Short-tongued. Nests underground or in holes in trees or in bird boxes. | 
| | Common carder bumblebee Bombus pascuorum Gingery-brown all over with some black hairs on the abdomen. Long-tongued. Nests on the surface of ground in long-tussocky grass. | 
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