Bees in disguise: the “black bumblebee”
Spring is here! With it comes the arrival of the “black bumblebee” – several bumblebees, cuckoo bumblebees and solitary bees that can look similar to one another and cause confusion to those spotting them. Annie Ives, Skills for Bees: Scotland Project Officer and Information Officer, tells us the differences and what to look out for.
What do you picture when you think of a bumblebee? Many people would say a large, furry insect with black and yellow stripes. But with twenty-four bumblebee species in the UK, the appearance of a bumblebee can vary hugely, particularly when it comes to colour.
Normally we identify bumblebees by first looking at their tail colour and banding. However, a few bumblebees can be entirely black. This makes them much harder to tell apart. Knowing a few helpful facts about the different black bumblebees, and the look-a-like Hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes), can help narrow down your options. So next time a black bee buzzes past, you won’t be fooled by its disguise!
Credit: Chris Slaney
Hairy-footed flower bee
One of the most common reasons people contact us in early spring is to ask for help in identifying a “black bumblebee”. Often this turns out to not be a bumblebee at all! The Hairy-footed flower bee is a solitary bee, yet its round, furry shape means it’s easily mistaken for a bumblebee.
Most often seen between February and May, male and female Hairy-footed flower bees are small, though remain distinct from one another. The males are a pale gingery brown and have yellow faces, while the females are black all over. If you look closer, a key feature to help identify a female Hairy-footed flower bee is the orange-red hairs on her hind legs.
Did you know? Hairy-footed flower bees are active in early spring. They are especially fond of lungwort (pulmonaria) flowers. Grow some lungwort and you’re bound to attract them!
Credit: Ralph Goodson
Melanic bumblebees
Usually, the pigment in a bumblebee’s hair gives it a bright tail or yellow bands. But this is not the case for melanic (dark) bumblebees. Melanism occurs when a natural genetic mutation causes the over-production of a pigment called melanin, resulting in different colourations or ‘forms’. This causes the bumblebee to appear partially or completely dark.
Melanism is most often observed in Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) and Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), but it can affect all species. This makes it very difficult to identify melanic bumblebees from their appearance alone.
Credit: Richard Dowling
Ruderal bumblebee
This late-emerging bumblebee is generally seen from May onwards and has a variety of different forms, including a melanic form. Ruderal bumblebees (Bombus ruderatus) have an exceptionally long tongue and are very fond of tubed flowers such as foxgloves. One particularly distinctive feature of this species is its large size. You should count yourself lucky if you spot one of these bulky bumblebees as they are rare and mainly found in the south and south-east of the UK, with a small number of recent records in Wales.
Credit: Nick Owens
Field cuckoo bumblebee
Being sneaky is part of the nature of cuckoo bumblebees. Much like the cuckoo bird, cuckoo bumblebees use the nest of other bumblebees (called hosts) to raise their young. In order to slip into the nest of an unsuspecting host, many cuckoo bumblebees mimic the colouration of their host species.
The most common form of the Field cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus campestris) has a yellow tail and a general yellow appearance (especially in the males). This is to mimic their preferred host, the Common carder bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum). However, there is also a melanic form of the Field cuckoo bumblebee which can appear completely black.
Top identification tip: Cuckoo bumblebees have thin, hairy back legs which never carry pollen. They often have dark, smoky wings which also helps distinguish them from the social species they mimic.
