Bombus hortorum
Garden Bumblebee Queen (Bombus hortorum ) on blackberry
The Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum ) is a common hummelart that occurs in gardens, meadows, orchards and parks.
Physique
The garden bumblebee carries on the front and rear edge of the ribcage each a golden yellow band with a broad black area in between. Also, the first tergite of the abdomen is golden yellow, the middle terms black and the abdomen end white hairs. The Queen is 18-26, the workers and the drones 11-16 13-15 mm long. The wings of the queen are large, with a maximum span of 40 mm, with the workers only 30 mm. Look-alike species are the Dark bumblebee, Heather Hummel, Hummel and the field Tonerdhummel.
Occurrence
The garden bumblebee occurs in all of Europe. Their habitat are forest edges, adjacent thereto meadows, orchards, parks and gardens in the settlement area, and flood embankments.
Foraging
The garden bumblebees are among the long-tongued bumblebee species and therefore visit plants with long flower tube, such as Lamiaceae and Fabaceae. So they are on red clover, monkshood, thistles, field beans and honeysuckle.
Reproduction and nest-building
The nest is located on or near the surface in the ground, but can also be built in abandoned bird and mice nests, stables, barns, sheds and attics. An adult people consists of about 50 to 100 workers. The nest -seeking queens can from March to mid-May are observed, the workers from early May to late July, the drones from late June to late July, a second generation into September. The queens from the nest first start in the same year with its own nest. For this new nest overwintering queens come.