Photo: S. Rae / CC BY 2.0

Bombus campestris

Field Cuckoo Bumblebee

A medium-sized cuckoo bumblebee (15–18 mm) with no worker caste and no pollen-collecting apparatus. Females have a black body with two yellow bands (one at the front, one at the back of the thorax) and a yellowish tail, with dark-tinted wings. Males are more variable but generally similar. It is a brood parasite primarily of Bombus pascuorum (Common Carder Bee), and also of B. humilis, B. pratorum, B. ruderarius, and B. pomorum. It has a short tongue and feeds on thistles, scabious, knapweeds, and dandelions. Overwintered females appear from April, new females and males from July to September. In Switzerland it is widespread from lowlands to montane elevations in gardens, meadows, and open habitats wherever its hosts occur. Swiss Red List: Least Concern (LC).