--- title: "Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A short-tongued bumblebee that bites holes in flowers to steal nectar, and nests underground in colonies of up to 600." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/buff-tailed-bumblebee-1.webp" published: "2026-10-09" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (*Bombus terrestris*) > **Status**: Checked against 6 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A short-tongued bumblebee that bites holes in flowers to steal nectar, and nests underground in colonies of up to 600. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Classic Punk & 70s Garage // Ramones, "Blitzkrieg Bop" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/4KcH1ZRV2W1q7Flq0QqC76) > **Vibe Match**: Faced with a flower too deep for its tongue, this bumblebee skips the front entrance: it bites a hole at the base of the flower and sucks out the nectar. The Ramones took the short way in too, straight to the hook with no long intro. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Bombus terrestris* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-2.rlts.t221880141a221880274.en)) - **Superpower**: Nectar robbing: it bites a hole at the base of a flower too deep for its short tongue and sucks out the nectar - **Habitat**: Grassland, shrubland, forest, towns and gardens across Europe and the middle and northern latitudes of Asia, and the Atlas Mountains of northern Africa - **Diet**: Nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers - **Tags**: insect, herbivore, pollinator, venomous, social-colony ## Natural History & Behavior ## The Flower Burglar The **buff-tailed bumblebee** (*Bombus terrestris*) has a short tongue, and some flowers are too deep for it. Its fix is to bite a hole at the base of the flower and suck out the nectar. This is why it is known as a "nectar robber". Other insects then use the hole too. It struggles with long, tubular flowers, and prefers open, daisy-like ones, where the nectar is easier to reach. The Wildlife Trusts call it one of the UK's biggest bumblebees, at 2.0 to 2.2 cm long. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust lists it among the "Big Eight" common and widespread bumblebees in the UK. It visits a wide variety of flowers for both pollen and nectar. A 2009 profile by the Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society gives its range as Europe and the middle and northern latitudes of Asia, east to northern Mongolia, plus the higher altitudes of the Atlas Mountains in northern Africa. Its Red List assessment for Europe, published in 2025 and last assessed in 2023, lists it as Least Concern there. ## Queen Tails, Worker Tails The name comes from the buff-coloured tail of the queen. Workers have white tails, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust says the workers of this species and the white-tailed bumblebee generally cannot be told apart. Nests sit underground, often in old mammal nests. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust puts a big nest at around 350 workers, and the Wildlife Trusts say up to 600 bees. ## A Winter Worker In the UK, queens are some of the first to emerge, in late winter or early spring, and can be seen from February. In southern parts of the UK, and in cities further north, the species can also be winter-active. There, nests are established in October or November, and workers forage all winter on Mahonia and other winter-flowering plants. The AnAge database gives a maximum longevity of 0.27 years in captivity, from a study of the longevity of queens, and records specimens of the audax subspecies living up to 98 days. > **Escape artists** That 2009 profile says captive nests, not of the British sub-species, are used by commercial tomato and fruit growers. Some of the breeding bees may escape and interbreed with wild ones. Bees from commercial nests lack the deeper yellow bands and darker tail markings of the British sub-species. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is the buff-tailed bumblebee endangered? Not in Europe. The Red List's 2025 Europe assessment, last assessed on 14 July 2023, rates it Least Concern with an Increasing population trend. *(Source: [Ghisbain et al. 2025]())* ### How long does a buff-tailed bumblebee nest last? A nest runs for three to four months. Workers show up about six weeks after it is founded, and the new queens and males are produced near the end. *(Source: [Bumblebee Conservation Trust]())* ### How did buff-tailed bumblebees end up in New Zealand? People put them there on purpose in the late 1800s. Escapes from commercial use have also let the species settle in Australasia and South America. *(Source: [Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society]())* ## Sources 1. [Can you bust these seven bumblebee myths? Bumblebee Conservation Trust.]() 2. [Buff-tailed bumblebee. The Wildlife Trusts.]() 3. [Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Bumblebee Conservation Trust.]() 4. [Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758). Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society.]() 5. [AnAge entry for Bombus terrestris. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge database.]() 6. [Ghisbain et al. (2025). Bombus terrestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T221880141A221880274.]() *Published October 9, 2026. 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