If you can't beat them...

By Jerra

Field cuckoo bumblebee ( Bombus campestris )

Still up in Edinburgh visiting Kat.  Following the nature theme after mentioning her winning a sustainable garden competition.  I was wandering her garden looking for blips.  This Bumblebee caught my eye as I have never seen one before.  By a process of elimination I think this is a Field Cuckoo Bumblebee.  I have based the identification on the fact that it is the only bee that looks vaguely like this one that is found in the area.

Cuckoo Bumblebees are so called because just like the bird they use other species to raise their young.  In the case of the Field Cuckoo it uses the nest of the Common Carder Bee.  Despite their patch distribution Field Cuckoos seem to have plenty of habitat, they are said to like gardens ,parks and the wider countryside.

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