Bombus barbutellus

Bearded cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus barbutellus )

The Bearded cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus barbutellus ) is a species of parasitic cuckoo bumblebees living. You parasitized mainly in the Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum ), but also in the field bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus ). It is distributed from western Europe to Mongolia, north pushes the kind up to 62 ° latitude before.

Features

The Bearded cuckoo bumblebee is similar in appearance to the garden bumblebee, but can be found in the area of ​​the face black tufts of hair that are particularly dense in the males. The males are 15-16 mm in size, the larger females reach 18-20 millimeters. The thorax is black in the middle and closed at the front and rear with yellow stripes. The first to third tergite of the abdomen is again hairy black. The hair of the first tergite is in the males easily into yellowish. The hair on the fourth to sixth tergite are white.

Way of life

The males of the cuckoo bumblebee Bearded feed mostly on nectar of knapweed, scabious and thistles. The females on the other hand prefer dandelions. The species is univoltine, that is, there is only one generation per year. The overwintered females occur between late April and late July. The females of the new generation fly from mid-July, the males as early as mid-June.