Red-tailed male

A couple of months ago I posted a male Early Bumblebee, and talked about the only two UK bees with which he might potentially be confused. Of these, I've never seen a Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola), and certainly wouldn't expect find one here, so far from its strongholds in the upland heaths and moors of Scotland. But this is the other: a male Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), nectaring on the spear thistle in my front lawn, and inadvertently collecting vast amounts of its pollen, which he'll then transfer to other thistles as he moves around the neighbourhood.

I said when I posted the Early Bumblebee that the Red-tailed male is larger and tidier, and even with his messy eating habits I think you can see that his pile is denser and less fluffy, and that he's much more clearly marked. Size is obviously harder to determine, given that I photographed the two specimens on different flowers, but the male Early Bumblebee is only about 13mm long, while the Red-tailed male is around 18mm in length, and proportionately heavier and more solid.

R: C3, D21.