Red-shanked carder bee - No longer an R-ex
10th June 2010, ThursdayOn 7 April Chris Bentley found a Bombus ruderarius queen at Rye Harbour LNR, the first record in the Rye area since 2001, and the first we have seen in the RX area since it was last found at Dungeness in 2004. The trouble is that these bees are very mobile, and unless more specimens were found collecting pollen this was not evidence of nesting. Yesterday three workers were found in a meadow three kilometres away.
Although very similar to the red-tailed bumblebee, this species is smaller, has a shorter, rounder body, but the most important features to watch for are the orange hairs (not black as in the red-tailed bumblebee) on the pollen basket of the females (in circle below) and the spine lower down the same hind leg (see arrow pointing to metatarsal spine)
This bee was not as obliging as Chris’s specimen and did not pose to have it’s photograph taken on a flower, however four brown banded carder bees, another scarce species, were feeding nearby and were less camera-shy.
All the bees were feeding on meadow vetchling.
Populations of the scarcer bumblebees seem to be consolidating around Rye, thanks to the efforts of local farmers and reserve managers to favour these insects.