Early Bumblebee
(Bombus pratorum)
What you will learn here
- Information on individual types of bumblebees
- You will receive a summary of information for the general public, schools, and breeders.
Datum poslední aktualizace: 8/6/2026
Contents
Colour scheme
Size
Head
Language
Photography
Mother
Female worker
Male
Video catalogue
Mother
Female worker
Male
Similar species
How to distinguish it from similar species
Life cycle
Larval feeding
Nesting site
Nest size
Visiting bumblebees
How to tell the difference between a bumblebee and a 'pačmelák' (which is often used colloquially to refer to any larger bee, including bumblebees, or sometimes more specifically to certain types of larger, fuzzy bees).
Information on breeding
Interesting facts
Photos and videos
Interesting links
Description
Depiction
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Colour scheme
Basic diagram (mother-queen and workers):
- Base colour It is black
- Head black
- Chest
black
Just behind the head (prothorax) a transverse yellow stripe - Bottom
black
at the beginning of the rump (2nd tergite) a yellow stripe
The end of the rump (4th – 6th vertebrae) is orange-red
Basic diagram (male):
- Males have a patch of rich bright yellow plumage and striking yellow crest feathers on their forehead.
- The males of the coloured variety with two yellow stripes have the most striking colours.
Supplement:
- The coloration of the mother and workers can vary (e.g. a mother without yellow stripes and offspring with stripes from the father).
- Some colour forms are almost black, they always have an orange-red bottom
- Yellow stripes are sometimes missing or only weakly indicated (as for example here on the rump).
Size
Mother 15 – 17 mm
Female worker 9 – 14 mm
Male 11 – 13 mm
A rather typical feature is the stocky build of both queens and workers.
Source Blankořídlí of the Czech Republic I., Academia 2017
Head
Size short
Shape
- Mother and worker wedge shape when viewed from the front
- Male Oval
Language
- middle
- mother-of-pearl 12-14 mm
Photography
Mother
A shape with two stripes. The most beautiful males can be born from such a mother.
Bumblebees PLUS – Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) – queen
Photo: O. Hercog 27/7/2021
Bumblebees PLUS – Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) – queen
Photo: O. Hercog 27/7/2021
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
Shape with two yellow stripes
Photo O. Hercog 6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
Photo O. Hercog 6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
Shirt with one yellow stripe on the fore-chest, the second is practically unnoticeable
Photo O. Hercog 7/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
The mother has tenacious dung beetle larvae attached.
Photo O. Hercog 17/7/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
Photo: O. Hercog 12/7/2021
Dark form of mother (stripe on the pronotum is difficult to discern) – preparing
Female worker
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) worker
Form with one yellow stripe on the breast
Photo O. Hercog 22/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) worker
Photo O.Hercog
20/06/2021 Prague
Male
Note the male's long, curved antennae and also the yellow crest on its forehead.
Just as thick unruly eyelashes of bright colours.
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Form with one yellow stripe on the breast
Photo O. Hercog 11/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Shape with two yellow stripes
Interesting fact – a dung beetle is attached to the male.
Photo O. Hercog 17/7/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Photo O. Hercog 17/7/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Photo O. Hercog 25/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Shape with two yellow stripes
Photo O. Hercog 25/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male – head
Photo: O. Hercog 22/6/2021
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Video catalogue
Mother
Mother – light form with one light stripe on the forechest and a faint yellow stripe on the rump
Female worker
Female worker – light form with one light stripe on the fore-chest
Male
Male – light form with one light stripe on the pronotum
Male – light form with two yellow stripes
Similar species
The dark variant of this species is interchangeable
- Buff-tailed bumblebee
- Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Broad-headed Bumblebee (Bombus wurflenii)
How to distinguish it from similar species
Buff-tailed bumblebee
- The hairs on the collecting baskets are reddish to yellow in colour.
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- a much larger and longer body
- darker / richer colours
- Males are not as brightly coloured as some forms of the buff-tailed bumblebee.
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the city: Buff-tailed bumblebees of Wrocław“
BumblebeeBombus wurflenii
- It's more similar to the red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius).
- on the bottom is a wider coloured end (3rd – 6th vertebrae)
- larger than a Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum )
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Mountain bumblebee
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Occurrence
- It is a forest species/mountain and sub-mountain species.
- The species is quite common and widespread throughout Europe.
Biotop
- It generally inhabits wetter habitats, open meadows, and pastures.
- It prefers damper open habitats, and is not found in excessively open and warm areas. However, it is gradually moving into urban gardens and parks.
Life cycle
- Early species
- Number of generations per season: one / two cycles per season; mothers hibernate from August, but some of them establish their nests in the same year and attempt to raise a second generation in the same year.
- Queen bees looking for nesting sites: from the beginning of March (weather permitting) and nest soon.
- Nesting of queens: early March – mid-May
- New queen mothers are emerging: from May, if it's cold then at the beginning of June
- The males appear: right after mothers
- The nest ends: June – July (first generation) depending on the weather
In the following video, you can see an unsuccessful mating attempt. In this position, it's really not working out for the lad...
Larval feeding
Pollen storage cells
Nesting site
- nests in wall cavities, in tussocks of grass, less often under the roofs of houses.
- They very often try to move into the nests and burrows of other bumblebee species.
- Less often you will find it underground in the burrows of small rodents.
Nest size
- Mostly smaller nests
- Number of individuals 80 – 150 (in the wild)
A view inside a meadow bumblebee nest
Visiting bumblebees
In its nests, they parasitize
- Forest cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus sylvestris)
- Field cuckoo-bee
There have been cases where a new queen does not kill the original queen, but coexists with her in the nest (e.g. the Forest cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus sylvestris)).
How to tell the difference between a bumblebee and a 'pačmelák' (which is often used colloquially to refer to any larger bee, including bumblebees, or sometimes more specifically to certain types of larger, fuzzy bees).
Forest cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus sylvestris)
- It can be easily distinguished by the colour scheme and size.
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Forest cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus sylvestris)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Field cuckoo-bee
- It can be easily distinguished by the colour scheme and size.
Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Field cuckoo-bee
Sikora A., Michołap P., Kadej M., Sikora M. Tarnawski D. 2018 „Bees in the City: Bumblebees of Wrocław“, published by the Association Nature and Man.
Information on breeding
Fright but will readily nest in a large hive (recommended due to spring colds and frost)
HallwayIt doesn't require a long corridor, but it settles in well even in a standard hive with a corridor around 50–60 cm long.
Seating The mother often returns immediately after settling and builds a nest.
Mothers' returns in spring after hibernation: common
Self-assembly in the hive common
Interesting facts
- Its small size and fast flight are of interest.
- several colour schemes
- striking coloration males
- the most beautiful males emerging from the coloured variety with two yellow stripes
Photos and videos
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – queen
Photo by H. Kříženecká
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – worker
Photo H. Kříženecká
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – queen
Photo by H. Kříženecká
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – male
Photo H. Kříženecká
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Photo O. Hercog 25/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) queen
Photo: O. Hercog, 5 June 2021, Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) male
Photo O. Hercog 25/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – a worker cooling the hive
Photo O. Hercog 12/6/2021 Prague
Early bumblebee ( Bombus pratorum ) – the first newly hatched male
Photo: O. Hercog, 5 June 2021, Prague
Also visit YouTube Čmeláci PLUS, where you'll find a variety of interesting videos about bumblebees.
Each video is accompanied by a comment that describes the video.