Blunthorn Bee vs Common Carder Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blunthorn Bee Common Carder Bee
Scientific Name Melitta haemorrhoidalis Bombus pascuorum
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Melittidae Apidae
Size 10-13 mm 9-18 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Pollen Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Western Europe, Central Europe, Northern Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Blunthorn Bee

A late-summer specialist bee that collects pollen almost exclusively from bellflowers. It has a distinctively short tongue for a melittid bee.

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Did You Know?

Females often become completely dusted in blue bellflower pollen, giving them a striking violet-tinged appearance.

Common Carder Bee

A fluffy ginger-brown bumblebee that builds nests on the ground surface using moss and grass. It has one of the longest flight seasons of any European bumblebee.

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Did You Know?

Workers 'card' moss fibres over the nest like wool, which gives the species its common name.