The early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is a small, short-tongued bumblebee found across most of Europe and into temperate Asia, distinguished by a yellow collar, a yellow abdominal band, and an orange-red tail. Queens emerge typically from March — earlier than most other bumblebee species in Europe — with February emergence possible in milder climates. They establish small colonies of up to around 100 workers in cavities such as old bird nests or abandoned rodent burrows. The species forages across a wide range of garden and countryside flowers including raspberries, lavender, borage, and white clover, and is noted as an effective pollinator of soft fruit. The species is common and widespread throughout its range and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Nectar plants · 3

Occurs across most of Europe from the Arctic to near the Mediterranean, becoming uncommon in southern Iberia, southern Italy, and the Balkans, and absent from the steppes of southern Russia and Ukraine. The range extends eastward through the mountains of northern Turkey and northern Iran into Siberia west of the Yenisei River; BWARS records the eastern limit as northern Mongolia. Common throughout mainland Britain; absent from the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland (Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland).