Southern Cuckoo Bee - Bombus vestalis

Habitat: Parks, gardens and woodland

Size: Queen 19-22mm males 15-19mm

Species Account: The cuckoo of Bombus terrestris, queens closely resemble this species, presumably to aid in their takeover of the host nest. As with all cuckoo bees, the queens lack pollen baskets, and had darkened wings. B.vestalis also has yellow markings above the white tail and is generally more sparsely haired.

Similar species: Bombus bohemicus queens are extremely similar in appearance, the only guaranteed method of separating them from a photograph is to look at antennal segments 3 and 5, if these are the same length then you have B.bohemicus, if segment 3 is shorter you have B.vestalis.