About Bombus lucorum (Linnaeus, 1761)
Bombus lucorum, commonly known as the white-tailed bumblebee, is a common, widespread bumblebee species across Europe. This name has long been applied to a group of nearly identical-looking cryptic bumblebee species. In 1983, Scholl and Obrecht created the term "Bombus lucorum complex" to describe the three taxa in this group: B. lucorum, Bombus magnus, and Bombus cryptarum, which cannot be easily distinguished from one another by appearance. A recent global review of these species has clarified B. lucorum's distribution: it ranges across Europe and northern Asia, almost reaching the Pacific Ocean. In the north, its range extends as far as the Barents Sea. In southern Europe, B. lucorum occurs in Greece as an upland species, and its distribution never quite reaches the Mediterranean. Unlike many other bumblebee species, B. lucorum individuals have shorter tongues, a trait that allows them to rob nectar from flowers. Worker bees use the hard horny sheath surrounding their tongue to cut a hole through the flower, reaching the nectar without entering the flower itself. As a result, workers do not come into contact with pollen while collecting this nectar. B. lucorum has a very broad distribution, occurring across the Palearctic realm (including Japan), the Oriental realm, the Arctic, and the western Nearctic realm. It is more common in more northern regions. It is also found in Britain and Iceland, where it was probably introduced by humans. Its habitats include coastal areas, farmland, grassland, heathland, towns, gardens, upland areas, and woodland edges. The species can be found almost anywhere that provides flowers for food.
