Bombus lapidarius (m)
The garden Inulas have had quite a few of these male red-tailed bumblebees visiting recently and I've also seen the odd queen. So it must be time to start the next brood.
The hind-leg view shows the tibia to be hairy rather than a shiny pollen basket. That means this bee doesn't collect pollen showing it to be male or one of the cuckoo bee species. But this doesn't look like a cuckoo bee.
Bombus lapidarius (m)
The garden Inulas have had quite a few of these male red-tailed bumblebees visiting recently and I've also seen the odd queen. So it must be time to start the next brood.
The hind-leg view shows the tibia to be hairy rather than a shiny pollen basket. That means this bee doesn't collect pollen showing it to be male or one of the cuckoo bee species. But this doesn't look like a cuckoo bee.