The buff-tailed bumblebee is a European bumblebee, black with yellow bands and a white to buff tail, and one of the most widely farmed bumblebees, raised in huge numbers to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes. It isn't a US species, and the US allows only a few bumblebee species to be imported, not this one. Where colonies have escaped, as in Japan, Chile, and Argentina, it has become an invasive pest.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Queens are about 0.7–0.9 in (18–22 mm) long, workers 0.4–0.7 in (10–18 mm). Black with one deep-yellow band on the thorax and one on the abdomen, and a white to buff tail tip — the 'buff tail' of its name.
Look-alikes
Queens of the buff-tailed have a buff-tinged tail, and its yellow bands look darker side by side. Workers of the two are very hard to tell apart in photos.
Why they get mixed upA close European relative with the same black, yellow, and white pattern.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Meadows
- Gardens
- Farmland
- Greenhouses
- Range
- Native to Europe, the Mediterranean islands, North Africa, and parts of the Near East. Introduced and spreading in Japan, Chile, Argentina, and Tasmania. Not a US species; US import rules restrict it.
- Preferred conditions
- It forages in cool or cloudy weather, which is part of why growers like it for greenhouses.
Behavior
- Diet
- Nectar and pollen from a wide range of flowers. It sometimes chews a hole in the side of a flower to steal nectar without pollinating it.
- Activity
- Busiest in the early morning, peaking around 7–8 a.m. Most workers forage within about 3 miles (5 km) of the nest.
- Social life
- Lives in annual colonies of one queen and her workers; a colony produces 300–400 bees on average.
- Overwintering
- Only new queens survive the winter, in a small underground chamber. In mild climates some skip hibernation.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- A mated queen hibernates alone, starts a nest in spring, and raises workers. Males and new queens appear late in the season, and the old colony dies in fall.
Growing it
- Care
- Commercially bred since 1987 for greenhouse tomatoes; the global trade probably tops a million colonies a year.
Name and classification
- About the name
- There are several subspecies, each with its own color pattern. The one native to Britain and Ireland is the British buff-tailed bumblebee (B. t. audax), and the Canary Islands have their own subspecies (B. t. canariensis).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Considered invasive in Japan, Chile, Argentina, and Tasmania; Australia banned live imports in 2008.
- Threats
- Escaped bees compete with native bumblebees for flowers and nest sites and can spread parasites.
More species to explore
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