Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbees wasps and ants
The buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) is an insect in the bee subgroup, belonging to the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae and tribe Bombini. It is placed in the order Hymenoptera, suborder Apocrita and superfamily Apoidea, within the class Insecta and phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the buff-tailed bumblebee
The species was named by (Linnaeus, 1758) and is a living, not extinct species according to the Catalogue of Life.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 1.4 cm – 2.3 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Generations a year
- Onesrc for Generations a year
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the buff-tailed bumblebee?
Photos of the buff-tailed bumblebee
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the buff-tailed bumblebee live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The buff-tailed bumblebee is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the buff-tailed bumblebee?
Bombus terrestris, the buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebee, is one of the most numerous bumblebee species in Europe. It is one of the main species used in greenhouse pollination, and so can be found in many countries and areas where it is not native, such as Tasmania. Moreover, it is a eusocial insect with an overlap of generations, a division of labour, and cooperative brood care. The queen is monogamous, which means she mates with only one male. B. terrestris workers learn flower colours and forage efficiently.
From the Wikipedia article “Bombus terrestris” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bombus_terrestris&oldid=1381892494), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the buff-tailed bumblebee sound like?
Is the buff-tailed bumblebee endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the buff-tailed bumblebee classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderHymenoptera
- familyApidae
- genusBombus
- SpeciesBombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Apis virginalis, Bombus virginalis, Bremus fasciatus, Terrestribombus lucorum terrestriformis
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Buff tailed bumblebeeEnglish
- Buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebeeEnglish
- Buff-tailed humble-beeEnglish
- Large earth bumblebeeEnglish
- Large earth humble-beeEnglish
- Two-banded bumble beeEnglish
- نحلة طنانة أرضية كبيرةArabic
- نحلة طنانة ذات ذيل برتقاليArabic
- BombolónAragonese
- abeyónAsturian
- Земна пчелаBulgarian
- BorinoCatalan
- AbellotCatalan
- BorinotCatalan
- čmelák zemníCzech
- Mørk jordhumleDanish
- Stor jordhumleDanish
- Dunkle ErdhummelGerman
- ΒομβίνοςGreek
- ZapadorSpanish
- Abejorro comúnSpanish
- Abejorro europeoSpanish
- KarukimalaneEstonian
- kontukimalainenFinnish
- Bourdon terrestreFrench
- Bourdon terrestre (Le)French
- seillean-mòr an earbaill bhuidhe-bhànScottish Gaelic
- seilleanan-mòra an earbaill bhuidhe-bhànScottish Gaelic
- בומבוס האדמהHebrew
- Zemni bumbarCroatian
- Földi poszméhHungarian
- JarðhumlaIcelandic
- Bombo terrestreItalian
- セイヨウオオマルハナバチJapanese
- 서양뒤영벌Korean
- Žeminė kamanėLithuanian
- Pi RorohuMāori
- AardhommelDutch
- Gewone aardhommelDutch
- Grote aardhommelDutch
- Trzmiel ziemnyPolish
- Abelhão-terrestrePortuguese
- Земляной шмельRussian
- čmeľ zemnýSlovak
- Земни бумбарSerbian
- mörk jordhumlaSwedish
- stor jordhumlaSwedish
- större jordhumlaSwedish
- Tüylü ArıTurkish
- bombus arısıTurkish
- Джміль землянийUkrainian
Relatives of the buff-tailed bumblebee
Other species in the same genus Bombus.
Common carder bee
Bombus pascuorum
Stone humble-bee
Bombus lapidarius
Garden bumblebee
Bombus hortorum
Early bumble bee
Bombus pratorum
Tree bumblebee
Bombus hypnorum
Small earth humble-bee
Bombus lucorum
CompareBuff-tailed bumblebee vs Common carder beeBuff-tailed bumblebee vs Stone humble-beeBuff-tailed bumblebee vs Garden bumblebeeBuff-tailed bumblebee vs Early bumble bee
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the buff-tailed bumblebee?
The buff-tailed bumblebee is an insect in the bee subgroup. It belongs to the family Apidae within the order Hymenoptera.
What is the scientific name of the buff-tailed bumblebee?
Its scientific name is Bombus terrestris, placing it in the genus Bombus.
Who named Bombus terrestris and when?
The species name is credited to (Linnaeus, 1758).
Which countries is the buff-tailed bumblebee recorded in?
Checklists record the buff-tailed bumblebee in Australia.
Is the buff-tailed bumblebee extinct?
No, the buff-tailed bumblebee is a living, not extinct species according to the Catalogue of Life.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/buff-tailed-bumblebee
“Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/buff-tailed-bumblebee.
@misc{buff_tailed_bumblebee_2026,
title = {Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/buff-tailed-bumblebee},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}