Tree Bumblebee

The Tree Bumblebee was first found in the UK in 2001. They probably arrived from Europe and spread quickly.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Bombus hypnorum
Family: 
Bumble and Honey Bees
Family Latin name: 
APIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

The Tree Bumblebee was first found in the UK in 2001. They probably arrived from Europe and spread quickly. They are now one of Britain's most frequently seen species of bumblebee, and are common in urban settings and often nest in bird boxes. Their appearance can be varied, but the dark circle or spot in the middle of the thorax where ginger hair is missing is distinctive. 

The males of this species of bumblebee are about twice the size of honey bees.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
The Tree Bumblebee was first found in the UK in 2001. They probably arrived from Europe and spread quickly.
Male Tree Bumblebee are about twice the size of honey bees.

Details

Species family information

The honey and bumble bees are social insects, whereas all other bees are solitary. Bumble Bees live in small colonies, often underground but they can be in dense terrestrial vegetation. Most of those seen in Spring and early Summer will be females, males appearing in late Summer. They have long antennae. There are 17-24 species of Bumble Bee depending on which entomologist is compiling the classification. 

In former times, hives and bees were traditionally acquired by barter, or for gold or silver, for to exchange for cash was considered an unlucky transaction. It was considered bad luck to carry a hive across flowing water. Bees are said to be fussy about who manages them and will not produce honey for someone ill-behaved or of criminal tendencies, nor for someone quarrelsome or foul-mouthed. If bees suddenly quit a hive then death or ill-luck will visit the owner's house. If a bee owner dies the hives must be turned. If a funeral cortège passes, hives must be lifted until it has gone from view. For all significant family news the hives are tapped and the news whispered to the bees, or the bees may leave in disgust, or misfortune may strike. At weddings or birthdays a piece of cake is given to the bees; at funerals black crêpe is wrapped round the hives. A swarm of bees settling on a dead tree is a portent of death. 

Note that various mason bees and mining bees have also been found in the Cemetery.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!