Bombus hypnorum - a recently recognised bumble-bee in the area
On 27th February I noticed a large-ish bumble-bee on the white-painted surround of my kitchen window overlooking Manor Park cemetery. It was absolutely still - somewhat comatose in the cold, dreary weather that day, and an ideal candidate - albeit through the double-glazing - of a photograph.
Bombus hypnorum in position on the paintworkThe bee wasn't one that I'd been aware of noticing before, having a dark head, an attractive brown thorax, black abdomen and white tail. I took some photographs first, before trying to identify it.
Bombus pascuorum has been the most likely bumble-bee to be seen with a tawny appearance - especially this early in the year - but the colour often extends to the abdomen as well. B.humilis was another gingery candidate, but these are usually almost entirely ginger and tend to appear a bit later. In the case of the bee-by-the-window. the abdomen was very black. Also, neither B. pascuorum or B. humilis have a white tail.
It appeared that what I had there was Bombus hypnorum, sometimes called the Tree Bee or the Tree Bumblebee, a relatively newly-arrived species in Britain, and one that I had not noticed before.
Bombus hypnorum was first found in the UK in 2001 on the border of Hampshire and Wiltshire; in Essex it was first seen during 2007 at Thundersley near Southend and at High Woods Country Park, Colchester. Since then it has extended its range to many parts of the country. It tends to be associated with woodland and gardens in urban areas, which suits the description of my location quite well.
The bee remained in exactly the same position until 2nd March, when some long-awaited sunshine and a slight rise in temperature (to about 8° C.) apparently encouraged it to move off. Coincidentally, when I mentioned it to Jennifer Charter and before I'd described it, she told me that she had a bumblebee in her garden, and described it as the same species. She lives in a wooded garden in the Aldersbrook area.
Thanks to Peter Harvey of the Essex Field Club for some additional information used in this article
An information sheet supplied by Stuart Roberts of the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS) is available here as a pdf. file
Paul Ferris, 3rd March 2011
Bombus hypnorum - the white tail can just be made out against the white background
