Photo: BombusofSwitzerland / CC BY-SA 4.0

Bombus mesomelas

Mountain Bumblebee

A medium-sized alpine bumblebee with a distinctive colour pattern: the thorax is entirely orange-brown and the abdomen is black with an orange-brown tip. It has a relatively short tongue. It occurs in montane to alpine meadows in the Alps and Jura from 1000 to 2800 m, foraging on bilberry, clovers, and thistles. It nests underground in abandoned rodent burrows, forming small colonies. In Switzerland it is locally common in suitable high-elevation habitats and classified as Least Concern. Swiss Red List: Least Concern (LC).