A common carder bumble bee feeds on a yellow Sunflower in September. This indivdual looks to be in good condition, with the strong ginger colour of the hair on the thorax unfaded, and no rips or tears on the wing edges.
The common carder bumble bee (Bombus pascuorum) is a brown coloured bee, but lacking the white/yellow markings on its rear end seen in some other bumble bee species. B. pascuorum is a ground nesting bee, often nesting in old mouse runs or tangles of vegetation.
The common carder bumble bee gets its common name from the way they comb material together (carding) when capping the cells containing the larvae before they pupate.
The bee has a relatively long tongue, and can often be seen feeding from flowers with a long flower tube, such as clover and white dead-nettle.
16 recovery in ACR