White-tailed bumblebee  (Bombus lucorum)

The white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) is a common species that is easily confused with the similar species Bombus magnus (3). Work is on-going to determine whether these bees are actually the same species (4). Queens and workers of B. lucorum and B. magnus have bright lemon or creamy yellow stripes with a white tail that may have a pinkish flush. In both species there is a yellow ‘collar’, which is narrower in B. lucorum, but extends below the bases of the wings in B. magnus. Furthermore, the queens of B. lucorum are often small in relation to those of B. magnus (3). There is no known way of distinguishing the males of the two species. They have pure white tails, and a long and uneven covering of hairs. The hair on the face is black, yellow or a mixture of the two colours, and there may also be yellow hair on the thorax (3).