Common Carder Bee
Bombus pascuorum
The common carder bee is a social wild bee species characterized by its brownish to orange thorax hair. It forms annual colonies of up to 150 individuals and serves as a vital pollinator for a wide variety of plant species. The species is found in almost all habitats from forests to gardens and has a relatively long flight period from March to October.
Details
Identification
Thorax mostly ginger or yellowish-brown, abdomen with grey, black, and brownish hair bands, lacking a white tail tip.
Social behavior
Eusocial; forms annual colonies with a queen and workers; nests are often built above ground in moss or grass.
Diet
Polylectic; utilizes nectar and pollen from a wide variety of plants, especially Lamiaceae and Fabaceae.
Overwintering
Only the mated young queens overwinter in protected burrows or under leaf litter.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important pollinator for wild and cultivated plants, especially those with deep corollas due to its long tongue.
Natural predators
Birds (e.g. red-backed shrike), crab spiders, cuckoo bumblebees (Bombus campestris).
Competitor species
Other bumblebee species like the buff-tailed bumblebee as well as the western honey bee during resource scarcity.
Ecosystem service
Pollination of fruit trees, vegetables, and a wide variety of native wildflowers.
Threats
Habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, use of pesticides, and lack of nesting sites.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Long tongue (Longituba); head significantly longer than wide; thorax hair usually without intermixed black hairs (distinguishing feature from B. humilis); females possess pollen baskets (corbicula); belongs to the 'pocket-maker' group regarding larval feeding.
Habitat
Euryoecious; inhabits almost all open and semi-open habitats including gardens, parks, forest edges, meadows, and agricultural land.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Although still common, the species suffers from the loss of flower-rich margins, the use of broad-spectrum insecticides (neonicotinoids), and the lack of nesting opportunities in cleared agricultural landscapes.
Population trend
Stable; considered one of the most adaptable bumblebee species in Central Europe and is not endangered in Germany (Red List: Least Concern).
Conservation measures
Promotion of extensively used meadows, preservation of old grass strips as nesting sites, planting of native forage plants in gardens (e.g., dead-nettles, comfrey).