Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758)
(Buff-tailed Bumblebee)

Interactions where Bombus terrestris is the dominant partner and gains from the process

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Stage Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season
queen queen pollinates or fertilises flower Dactylorhiza purpurella Northern Marsh-orchid Asparagales: Orchidaceae Orchids of Britain & Ireland: a field and site guide, Harrap, A. & S., 2009
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebeequeen Plant / pollinated /Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Asparagales/Orchidaceae/Dactylorhiza purpurella/Dactylorhiza purpurellanorthern marsh-orchidflower
robs flower Orobanche rapum-genistae Greater Broomrape Lamiales: Orobanchaceae Flora of the British Isles, Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M., 1985
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebee Foodplant / robber /Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Lamiales/Orobanchaceae/Orobanche rapum-genistae/Orobanche rapum-genistaegreater broomrapeflower

Interactions where Bombus terrestris is the victim or passive partner (and generally loses out from the process)

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Filters:

Affected Part Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season Summary
adult is endoparasitoid host of solitary larva Physocephala rufipes a thick-headed fly Diptera: Conopidae Diptera: Conopidae, Smith, K.G.V., 1969
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Diptera/Conopidae/Physocephala rufipes/Physocephala rufipesa thick-headed flysolitarylarva Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebeeadult solitary larva is endoparasitoid of adult
adult is endoparasitoid host of solitary larva Sicus ferrugineus a thick-headed fly Diptera: Conopidae Diptera: Conopidae, Smith, K.G.V., 1969
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Diptera/Conopidae/Sicus ferrugineus/Sicus ferrugineusa thick-headed flysolitarylarva Animal / parasitoid / endoparasitoid /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebeeadult solitary larva is endoparasitoid of adult
nest is taken over by female UK/IrelandRestricted Bombus vestalis Vestal Cuckoo Bee Hymenoptera: Apidae Forage, prey and host-parasite relationships of aculeates, Macdonald, M.A., 2007
Bumblebees, Prys-Jones, O.E. & Corbet, S.A., 1987
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus vestalis/Bombus vestalisvestal cuckoo beefemale Animal / sequestratesUK and/or Eire /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebeenestSole female takes over nest
may be infected by Nosema bombi a microsporian Microsporida: Nosematidae A field experiment on the effect of Nosema bombi in colonies of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, Otti, O. & Schmid-Hempel, P., 2008
 /Fungi/Microsporidia/Microsporea/Microsporida/Nosematidae/Nosema bombi/Nosema bombia microsporian Animal / pathogen /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apidae/Bombus terrestris/Bombus terrestrisbuff-tailed bumblebee infects

Author & YearTitleSource
Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M., 1985Flora of the British Isles3 edition, 688pp, Cambridge University Press
Harrap, A. & S., 2009Orchids of Britain & Ireland: a field and site guide2nd edition, 480pp, A&C Black Publishers Ltd
Macdonald, M.A., 2007Forage, prey and host-parasite relationships of aculeates
Otti, O. & Schmid-Hempel, P., 2008A field experiment on the effect of Nosema bombi in colonies of the bumblebee Bombus terrestrisEcological Entomology Vol 33: 577-582.
Prys-Jones, O.E. & Corbet, S.A., 1987BumblebeesNaturalists’ Handbooks, 6, 92pp, The Richmond Publishing Co. Ltd
Smith, K.G.V., 1969Diptera: ConopidaeHandbooks for the Identification of British Insects , Vol X. Part 3(a), 19pp, The Royal Entomological Society of London

Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee) may also be included in 'feeds on' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee) may also be included in 'fed on by' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Taxonomic hierarchy:
SpeciesBombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee)
SubgenusBombus s.s. (bumble bees, humble bees)
GenusBombus (bumble bees or humble bees & cuckoo bees)
FamilyAPIDAE (bees)
SuperfamilyAPOIDEA (solitary and hive bees)
InfraorderAculeata (aculeates: bees, wasps and ants)
SuborderAPOCRITA (bees, wasps, ants and parasitoids)
OrderHYMENOPTERA (ants, bees and wasps, sawflies and parasitoid wasps)
Division Endopterygota (bees, beetles, flies, moths and other insects with wings developing internally)
InfraclassNeoptera (bees, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other advanced insects)
SubclassPTERYGOTA (bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other winged insects)
ClassINSECTA (true insects)
SubphylumHEXAPODA (insects and other 6-legged organisms)
PhylumARTHROPODA (arthropods)
SuperphylumECDYSOZOA (skin shedders)
CladeBilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals)
SubkingdomEUMETAZOA (metazoans)
KingdomANIMALIA (animals)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee)

Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee) may be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

General Works

AuthorYearTitleSource
Clarke, D., Whitney, H., Sutton, G. & Robert, D. 2013 Detection and Learning of Floral Electric Fields by Bumblebees Science.
Koch, L., Lunau, K. & Wester, P. 2017 To be on the safe site - Ungroomed spots on the bee’s body and their importance for pollination PLOS One.
Koch, L., Lunau, K. & Wester, P. 2017 To be on the safe site - Ungroomed spots on the bee’s body and their importance for pollination PLOS One Vol 12 (9): 1-16.

Literature listed under the following higher taxa may also be relevant to Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee):

BioImagesBioImages (www.bioimages.org.uk) has 25 images of Bombus terrestris (Buff-tailed Bumblebee)
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