A winter Profile - The Buff Tailed Bumblebee

Our next bee profile is on the hardy buff-tailed bumblebee

One of only two species you can see flying in the dark and damp months of January, the Buff Tailed Bumble is an impressive species. 

Particularly in Urban areas of the southern UK, the Buff Tailed can be found all through winter, finding the rare food sources available such as Mahonia Bushes, winter flowering honeysuckle and snowdrops. 

Identification shouldn’t be tricky as they are the only species you can expect to see at this time of year, apart from honeybees. Look for the Queens with their buff tail and the workers, which you are more likely to see at this point in the year, with their much whiter tails and 2 yellow stripes around their abdomens. 

Buff tails can be over 2cms long and tend to nest in mouse holes and crevices. 

I absolutely love them, as I do robins. Any species that sticks with us through winter has my respect.