Brown-banded Carder Bee
Fast Facts
Latin name: Bombus humilis
Notable feature: Ginger band of hair on abdomen, contrasts with paler buff hair that covers the rest of the bee’s abdomen. Easily confused with Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) and Moss Carder Bee (Bombus muscorum).
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Where in the UK: Listed as a species of Principal Importance in the UK, it can be found on open flower-rich grasslands in the south of England and Wales, with nationally important populations in the Thames Estuary.
Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) © Sam Ashfield
Description:
The Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) is a bumblebee named after the ginger band on the abdomen which contrasts with the paler buff hair that covers the rest of the bee’s abdomen. The hair on their thorax is bright ginger when fresh, contrasting strongly with pale sides. They are separated from the very similar Moss Carder Bumblebee by the presence of black hairs around the wing bases, but these can be few and hard to see.
A more southerly creature with strongholds around the coasts of SW England and Wales, as well as the SE English coasts. Also, across Salisbury Plain, Thames Gateway, and Christchurch Harbour.
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- Size: 20mm queen, 15mm worker/male.
- Life span: The lifespan of the nest is about six months from May to late September.
- Diet:
- Feed on clovers (Trifolium), knapweeds (Centaurea), Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus), vetches (Vicia) and other similar pea (Fabaceae) and mint (Lamiaceae) species.
- Reproduction: This species makes surface nests within tussocky grasses with about 40 or 50 workers present. Brown-banded Carder Bees mate in late summer; the queens store fat reserves to hibernate underground over the winter. They emerge in early spring to feed, and find new nest sites. Nests are on the surface within tussocky grasses. Each nest supports 40-50 workers who help to incubate eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae which pupate into worker bees until late summer when males are produced. These then emerge in August-September to mate with the new queens.
- When to see: May to early June (queens emerging), June through to September for worker bees and males from around August.
- Population Trend: Once widespread in lowland Britain, it is now declining and increasingly restricted to coastal areas.
- Threats: Loss of habitat, as a result of agricultural intensification, urbanisation and scrub encroachment; loss of connected wildflower-rich habitat in the landscape.
- Interesting Fact: The Brown-banded Carder Bee may be found nesting in old mouse burrows that they cover with grass and moss.
How you can help:
Buglife is working to increase awareness of invertebrates and the Brown-banded Carder Bee through specific projects, including B-Lines, Life on the Edge, Kernow Wyls – People for Pollinators, Solitary Bee Week and our work at Canvey Wick, but we need your help!
Buglife B-Lines are an imaginative and beautiful solution to the problem of the loss of flowers and pollinators. B-Lines are a series of ‘insect pathways’ running through our countryside and towns, along which we are restoring and creating a series of wildflower-rich habitat stepping stones. Linking existing wildlife areas together, creating a network, like a railway, that will weave across the UK landscape. More information about B-Lines and how you can help pollinators can be found on our B-Lines & Pollinator Projects pages.
Join a recording scheme and log your finds – take part in the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s national BeeWalk, send any records/sightings to BWARS or download the iRecord app and get recording!
Do remember that we rely on donations to continue our work. If you have searched, found and learned about our incredible invertebrates on our website, please do consider Making a Donation, Becoming a Member or maybe even making a purchase in our shop. For more ideas on how to support our work find out how to Get Involved. Thank you 🕷
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