Common Carder Bee vs Common Yellow Ichneumon

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Carder Bee Common Yellow Ichneumon
Scientific Name Bombus pascuorum Ichneumon stramentor
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Ichneumonidae
Size 9-18 mm 12-17 mm
Habitat Underground Farmland
Diet Nectar Feeders Parasitoids
Regions Western Europe, Central Europe, Northern Europe Central Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

Common Yellow Ichneumon

A bright yellow and black ichneumon wasp found across central Europe. It parasitizes pupae of cutworm and dart moths in agricultural areas.

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Did You Know?

Populations of this species tend to increase following outbreaks of cutworm moths, acting as a natural biological control.