The Common Carder Bumblebee is widespread throughout most of the UK.
They are pale ginger-brown in colour with black on the abdomen.
Queens emerge in March and start to search for nest sites. The nest is built on or just under the ground and is covered by moss or dry grass collected by the bees. It is this fact that gives it the name of Carder Bee.
It is frequently seen feeding on flowers of dead-nettles (as in photos 2 and 3), clover and foxgloves.
There is more information on Bumblebee.org.
| Previous Page | Back to Index | Next Page |