Large Garden Bumble Bee vs Red-legged Jewel Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Large Garden Bumble Bee Red-legged Jewel Beetle
Scientific Name Bombus ruderatus Castiarina rufipennis
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Apidae Buprestidae
Size 14-24 mm 10-15 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, New Zealand, South America Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Large Garden Bumble Bee

A long-tongued bumble bee introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s to pollinate red clover. They have one of the longest tongues of any bumble bee species.

💡

Did You Know?

They were intentionally shipped from England to New Zealand because they were the only bees with tongues long enough to pollinate red clover.

Red-legged Jewel Beetle

A medium-sized jewel beetle with reddish-brown elytra and metallic green thorax. It visits flowers in eucalypt woodlands across southern Australia.

💡

Did You Know?

The genus Castiarina contains about 500 species, all found only in Australia and New Guinea.