Brief Summary

Biology

The large garden bumblebee makes its nest underground, in the burrows of mice and voles (2). Nests are typically amongst vegetation on banks and slopes. Colonies may contain over 250 workers and often remain active until September (2). The cells in which larvae will be housed are lined with pollen before the eggs are laid (4). Queens hibernate through the winter, probably underground in disused mammal burrows, and emerge the following spring (2). They feed on long-tubed flowers, and show a particular preference for common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), white dead-nettle (Lamium album), woundworts (Stachys spp.), and red clover (Trifolium pratense) (4).