Southern cuckoo bumblebee
(Bombus vestalis)
Credit: Helen King
Status
This is a less common but still widespread bumblebee, although found more in England and Wales than Scotland.
Where to find
They are found in most habitats (gardens, parks, and the wider countryside) where their host species, the Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) is present.
UK distribution map
Southern cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus vestalis)
Map shows in dark green, the current known distribution for this species.
References
More detailed information on sources can be found here.
Credit: Richard Dowling
Active period
Southern cuckoo females usually emerge from hibernation from April onwards.
It is a cuckoo bumblebee so doesn’t have a worker caste, and new females and males can be seen up to the end of September.
Description
Females and males are similar, with one yellow band at the front of the thorax, and a white tail. There are yellow patches on either side of the front of the white tail. Males can have a faint yellow abdominal band.
As with all cuckoo bumblebees, it also has darker wing membranes, hairy hind legs in both sexes (no pollen baskets), and sparser hair which allows the shiny exoskeleton to show through.
This species has a short tongue and it often feeds on flowers such as dandelions and knapweeds.
Similar species and differences
The Gypsy cuckoo (Bombus bohemicus) has a similar colour pattern and is the only other UK species which has the yellow patches either side of the tail. These patches tend to be smaller and a lighter sand colour in comparison to the lemon yellow in the Southern cuckoo, but these species can be very difficult to reliably separate without close inspection of the individual bees.
