Rank Species | Genus Bombus | |
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Similar Bombus confusus, Bombus ruderarius, Broken‑belted bumblebee, Bombus muscorum, Bombus armeniacus | ||
The apple humble-bee or apple bumblebee (Bombus pomorum) is a species of bumblebee.
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Description
This bumblebee is black with a red tail, an oblong head, and a long proboscis. The male has pale hairs on the collar, scutellum, and first tergite (abdominal segment). The queen has a body length between 20 and 22 mm (0.79 and 0.87 in), the worker around 14 mm (0.55 in), and the male 15 mm (0.59 in).
Distribution
The apple humble-bee is found in western and central Europe and western Turkey, from northern France to the Perm region in Russia, but it is declining and once had a much wider distribution. It has been found once in the United Kingdom, in Kent, but it is doubtful if it ever has been established there.
Ecology
This species is mainly found in wood-edges and open fields. The Turkish subspecies B. p. canus, however, lives on more or less alpine steppes at altitudes between 1,600 and 3,500 m (5,200 and 11,500 ft).
