- Lifespan
- Queens 1–2 years; workers 5–8 weeks; males 2–3 weeks
- Size & Weight
- 12–16 mm body length; queens larger at 15–16 mm
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, meadows, gardens, and parks with abundant flowers; prefers sunny locations and loose soil for nesting.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout England, Wales, and Scotland; resident species present from spring through autumn, absent as adults in winter.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar and pollen from a wide range of flowers; larvae fed on regurgitated nectar and pollen by workers.
- Predators
- Robber flies, some spiders, and predatory wasps; birds occasionally take adults in flight.
- Mating Season
- July to September
- Breeding
- Queen establishes colony with 40–400 workers; single annual brood; workers lay unfertilised eggs that develop into males; colony cycle lasts April to October.
- Behaviour
- Social bumblebees living in underground nests or cavities in small colonies led by a single queen. Highly effective pollinators with distinctive loud buzzing flight. Males actively search for mates in late summer, patrolling territories.