Photo: David Rasp (Flocci Nivis) / CC BY 4.0

Bombus sylvarum

Shrill Carder Bee

A medium-sized, distinctively coloured bumblebee with a mix of yellow, brown, and orange hairs on the thorax, a dark band across the back, and an orange-red tail. It has a long tongue and favours deep flowers like clovers and vetches. It nests both above and below ground in grass tussocks, moss, or old rodent burrows. In Switzerland it occurs in species-rich meadows and grasslands up to 1400 m, but is classified as vulnerable due to habitat loss.