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Bombus lapidarius, the Red-tailed bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus Melanobombus.

Characteristics

Red-tailed bumblebees are mostly coloured black, the hind-quarters are auburn red though. Male exemplars feature a yellow band on their chest. Their nests are built in cairns or walls, which explains the literal meanings of their common names in various Germanic languages: "Stone bumblebee" (cf. German: Steinhummel, Swedish: Stenhumla). They are also found though in the straw of stables or in abandoned birds' nests. An average colony consists of about 100 to 200 worker bees. Red-tailed bumblebees prefer the nectar of various species of clover and deadnettle.

Conservation status

Red-tailed bumblebees rank among the most common and most recognized bumblebees of Central Europe, but there are rarer species of similar appearance.^[which?] Also the assumption that nectar from non-endemic plants such as Tilia tomentosa was responsible for a great "dying of bumblebees" has been proven wrong.^{[citation needed]}

This species is widespread across Ireland, though there is some evidence that the species is declining in agricultural grasslands.^[2] It is considered Near Threatened in Ireland.^[3]

References

• Leisering, Horst; Michael Lohmann (1998) (in German). Großer Naturführer in Farbe (Great coloured Guide to Nature). Compact Verlag, Munich. ISBN 3-8174-5229-2.

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

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