Red-tailed bumblebee

The red-tailed bumblebee is a short-tongued, velvety-black bumblebee with a distinctive bright red tail, common across Europe and into western Asia. Queens and workers forage broadly across the mint family (Lamiaceae - lavender, catmint, oregano, salvia), the pea family (Fabaceae), and the daisy family (Asteraceae) including knapweeds and cornflower, taking nectar and pollen from both wild and cultivated flowers. Colonies nest underground, typically in abandoned mammal burrows, and can reach 100–300 workers over a long March-to-October season. It is one of the most commonly encountered bumblebees in gardens and open countryside.

Nectar plants · 7

Widely distributed across temperate Europe from Britain and Ireland south to the Mediterranean and east through the Caucasus to western Asia, with a subspecies in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco; expanding northward into Scotland. Favours open, sunny habitats including gardens, grassland, and hedgerows.