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Bombus sylvarum

Shrill carder bee

Habitus (CC BY-SA 4.0) Ivar Leidus

Short Description

The shrill carder bee is densely hairy and pastel orange, brown and yellow. The rear half of the abdomen is conspicuously orange-haired. However, its colouration is altogether less contrasting than that of other bumblebee species.

The males (drones) are slightly larger than the females (workers).

The queen is the largest individual. Queens and workers have a seemingly nervous flight and a strikingly high and powerful buzzing sound.

Features

Shrill carder bee

Bombus sylvarum

  • orange hind end

Similar species

Veteran bumblebee

Bombus veteranus
It has no orange hind end.
Männchen (CC BY-SA 4.0) Ivar Leidus

In the city

The shrill carder bee inhabits forest edges, parks, gardens, meadows, ditches and embankments. It builds its nests underground in mice and mole nests, or above ground in the herb layer and in abandoned bird and squirrel nests.

Fun Facts

  • It makes an important contribution to the pollination of numerous plant species.

  • It can sting, but is very peaceful and rather shy.

  • A colony lives for less than a year. Only the mated queen hibernates.

  • A colony consists of the queen and about 80 to 150 other individuals.

  • The queen's flying season lasts from April to October, while drones and young bees fly from mid-July.

  • Endangerment level Germany: Warning list
Weibchen (CC BY-SA 3.0) Arnstein Staverløkk, Norsk institutt for naturforskning

Sources

Habitus, Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bombus_sylvarum_-_Pedicularis_sceptrum-carolinum_-_Niitv%C3%A4lja_bog.jpg

Männchen, Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bombus_sylvarum_(male)_-_Knautia_arvensis_-_Keila2.jpg

Weibchen, Arnstein Staverløkk, Norsk institutt for naturforskning, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bombus_sylvarum04.jpg

Bellmann, H. (1999) Der neue Kosmos-Insektenführer. Über1400 Fotos, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.

Bellmann, H. (2005) Bienen, Wespen, Ameisen. Hautflügler Mitteleuropas, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.

Saure, C. (2005) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Bienen und Wespen (Hymenoptera part.) von Berlin mit Angaben zu den Ameisen. : Der Landesbeauftragte für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege / Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung (eds.) Rote Listen der gefährdeten Pflanzen und Tiere von Berlin, URL: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/naturschutz/artenschutz/artenlisten-rote-listen/insekten/ (Accessed: 29.03.2021).

Page „Waldhummel“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 20.07.2017, 13:50 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waldhummel&oldid=167432513 (Accessed: 02.02.2018).

Binot-Hafke, M., Balzer, S., Becker, N., Gruttke, H., Haupt, H., Hofbauer, N., Ludwig, G., Matzke-Hajek, G. & Strauch, M. (2011) Rote Liste gefährdeter Tiere, Pflanzen und Pilze Deutschlands. volume 3: Wirbellose Tiere (part 1), Bonn-Bad Godesberg: Bundesamt für Naturschutz.