Year of the Bumblebees
2014
Black bumblebees with red tail
Bumblebees presented by Eha Kruus
Photos Heidi Ader and Eneli Viik
Translation: Liis
Red-tailed bumblebee
Red-tailed bumblebee Kivikimalane Bombus lapidarius
Red-shanked carder bee; Red-shanked bumblebee Tumekimalane Bombus ruderarius
Mostly we know bumblebees as yellow-and-black-striped. But one of the most numerous species, the red-tailed bumblebee, has a body covered with black fur which changes into bright red at the tip of the abdomen. The red-tailed bumblebee has its Estonian name, kivikimalane, ”stone bumblebee”, from its habit of making its nest in stone heaps. The females of the red-tailed bumblebee grow up to 20-22 mm in length, as does our largest species, the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), but because of their slender body they don’t seem as bulky.
Red-shanked carder bee
The other, outwardly similar species, the red-shanked carder bee, we recognize from the long hairs that surround the pollen basket on the hind leg shank (tibia) that are red, not black as for the other black species. But attention –short dense orange hairs covering the “foot” (not shank) of the hind leg are typical of the red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius). There is also a difference in the shape of the ”face”: the face of the red-shanked carder bee is oblong, that of the red-tailed bumblebee round.
We have more black-and-red bumblebees but these two are the most common.
Join the „Meie kimalased“ (Our bumblebees) group on Facebook: LINK
and so you can share images of bumblebees in your home garden with other bumblebee enthusiasts!!
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