Buff Tailed Bumblebee

Nowadays I always carry my little Samsung pocket camera with me in case I see something of interest worth photographing. Today is the 14th of January 2012 and I found a buff tailed bumblebee trying to get nectar from flowers. It’s still winter for goodness sake, admittedly the day was sunny, very still, but we did have a sharp frost last night. On embankments where the sun did not reach during the day that frost was still there in the late afternoon. So here’s my bee doing what bees do. It was quite happy to let get me close but there again most bees in the UK aren’t that aggressive unless you really threaten them.

Buff Tailed Bumblebee In Early Spring

Bombus terrestris, the buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebee is one of the most numerous bumblebee species in Europe. The queen is 2–2.7 cm long, while the workers are 1½–2 cm. The latter are characterized by their white-ended abdomens and look (apart from their yellowish bands being darker in direct comparison) just like those of the white-tailed bumblebeeB. lucorum, a close relative. The queens of B. terrestris have the namesake buff-white abdomen (“tail”) tip; this area is white like in the workers in B. lucorum.

Such bees can navigate their way back to the nest from a distance as far away as 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), although most forage within 5 km from their nest.[1]


The nest site is usually underground; an abandoned mouse burrow is often used. Inside, the queen first builds a nectar pot, which will sustain her during bad weather. She also begins to build up a pollen larder, which will feed her brood.



B. terrestris is thought to be a mainly singly mating species. This is unusual for social insect queens where mating with several males (polyandry) has been shown to have several benefits. The lack of multiple mating by B. terrestris queens may be caused by male interference in the process. B. terrestris males plug the female’s sexual tract with a sticky secretion during mating which appears to temporarily reduce the female’s ability to successfully mate with other males for several days.

When the autumn cold weather sets in, all but the young queens will die. The latter seek out a safe place to hibernate, they are the only ones to survive the winter.



  1. nuvofelt

    I’m following a view for the year on my new blog. I’m amazed at how much is going on at the moment. That’s a beautiful photograph.


  2. Margie

    I recently posted a photo of my Hunt’s Bumble Bee, but it sure wasn’t a bee that is buzzing around my part of the world right now. Too cold!