Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis)

B. humilis is a nationally rare Section 41 Conservation Priority species, its numbers having declined dramatically over the last 40 years due to the loss of its preferred habitat, large areas of grassland rich in flowers, especially vetches, clovers and trefoils for feeding. Much of the loss was through heavy grazing, “improvement” of pastures, encroachment of scrub and the use of herbicides.

Humilis queens in particular, need tussocky grass containing the nests of mice in which they can found their colonies, raking in moss and fine grass leaves.

There are however, tentative signs of recovery of the species.

This individual was found on southern chalk downland, near where I live, It can also be found on some southern heathlands, brownfield sites and on coastal dunes.

B. humilis can be differentiated from the Common Carder bee (B. pascuorum) in fresh specimens especially, by a deep chestnut hair pile on top of the thorax which often strongly contrasts with pale white clumps of hair on the sides. A small but distinguishable number of black hairs can often be seen at the base of each wing. Hairs which are never present on B. pascuorum.

The brown abdominal band, very prominent on this individual and which gives the species its common name is highly variable in appearance and on it's own cannot be used to relaibly identify the species.

In common with the similarly rare Shrill Carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) the queens emerge from hibernation later than other bee species in May, to build new nests. Workers fly from June to September and from July to September males can also be seen on the wing. New queens hibernate from October to the end of April.