Identifying bumblebees

Grow a range of flowering plants all year – especially from March to November when bees are most active – to provide them with essential sources of nectar and pollen. Native wildflowers, such as foxgloves, meadow cranesbill and teasel, are best. Gardeners can also encourage bumblebees to nest by leaving a patch of long grass or emptying compost bins less frequently.

Identifying bumblebees

There are six bumblebees likely to visit gardens, all varying in colour, size and tongue length. Each species favours different nest locations, such as below ground, trees or long grass.

Help more pollinators:

• The best flowers for hoverflies
• The best flowers for bumblebees
• Three ways to create a mini-meadow

Find out how to identify the six species of bumblebee likely to visit gardens, by using our easy-to-follow guide.

Buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

Similar to the white-tailed bumblebee, but with mustard-yellow bands on the head and thorax. Queens can be very large. Workers have a white tail with a faint buff-coloured margin. They're more common in the south of England than the north.

White-tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum

Similar to the buff-tailed bumblebee, but with lemon yellow bands and a white tail. Males, which emerge from June (pictured), have yellow facial hairs. This species visits a wide range of flowers and is more common in the north of England and Scotland.

Garden bumblebee, Bombus hortorum

This species has two yellow bands on the head and one on the thorax. Its tongue is long, so visits flowers with long corollas, such as foxgloves and red clover. Don't confuse it with the white-tailed bumblebee, which only has one band on its head.

Red-tailed bumblebee, Bombus lapidarius

Queens (pictured) and workers are very distinctive, with an all-black body and red tail. Males, which emerge from June, have a bright yellow face and one yellow stripe on the body. This species can often be found on yellow flowers, such as bird's foot trefoil.

Common carder bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum

Generally a small species, with workers varying in size considerably. Almost entirely gingery-brown, with no bands, although some workers (pictured) have more black colouring on the body. They feed from a wide range of flowers, including white dead nettle.

Early bumblebee, Bombus pratorum

This species has one yellow band on the head and a bright orange tail. It sometimes has a faint yellow band on the body. It visits a wide range of flowers, but is often found visiting flowers of soft fruit, such as blackberries and raspberries.

Kate Bradbury says

Once you’ve got your eye in, why not move on to solitary bees? There are around 220 species, of which many visit gardens. Start with red mason and leafcutter bees, and work your way up from there.