Bumblebee species catalog – Meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)

Color scheme

Basic scheme (queen and worker):

• The base color is black.
• Head: black
• Chest:
  black
  just behind the head (prothorax) transverse yellow stripe
• Belly:
  black
  at the beginning of the rump (2nd tergite) yellow stripe,
  the end of the rump (4th – 6th tergite) is orange-red

Basic diagram (male):

• Males have a rich, distinctive yellow eyebrow and prominent yellow eyebrows on the forehead (clear)
• The most striking colors are in males of the color variety with two yellow stripes.

Addition:

• The coloration of the mother and workers may differ (e.g. mother without yellow stripes and offspring with stripes from the father).
• Some color forms are almost black, they always have an orange-red back
• The yellow stripes are sometimes missing or only faintly indicated (as here on the rump).