White-tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum
White-tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum © Juha Kallamäki
This bumblebee is one of the few that can forage for pollen and nectar throughout winter due to increasingly mild weather and the wide variety of flowers available in gardens.
Like other sexually dimorphic bumblebees, the males and females of this species look different. Both have a distinctly white tail and generally have 2 lemon-yellow bands, although some male forms are almost entirely yellow apart from the white tail.
The female workers look very similar to Bombus terrestris workers, but don’t have any brownish hairs at the front of their white tail.
