Appearance
The species is a medium length bumblebee with a body length of 18 millimetres for the female, 15 millimetres for the male. The collar and the top of the head are yellow, the scutellum has yellow hairs , and the first tergite is usually more or less yellow. The tail is whitish; the last tergite of the male has however inter-mixed black hairs. The rest of the fur which is quite short is black.
Distribution
''Bombus barbutellus'' is widely distributed, if not particularly common, in most of Europe from the middle of Fennoscandia in the north to southern Spain, and from the British Isles in the west to eastern-most Russia. In Britain its major distribution is in southern England, East Anglia and western Wales.
Habitat
As a cuckoo bumblebee ''Bombus barbutellus'' does not build any nest of its own, but ursupates the nests of other bumblebees, killing the queen and forcing the workers to rise its own offspring. The main hosts are ''Bombus hortorum'', ''Bombus ruderatus'' and ''Bombus argillaceus''.Favourite food sources are flowering plants as thistles; the queen also visits white deadnettle and vetches, while the male feeds on bramble, knapweed, lavender and honeysuckles.
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