Forest cuckoo bee
Bombus sylvestris (Lepeletier, 1832)
Status not recordedbees wasps and ants
The forest cuckoo bee (Bombus sylvestris) is a species in the family Apidae, order Hymenoptera. Recorded adults reach 1.6 cm in length.
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Quick facts about the forest cuckoo bee
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 1.3 cm – 1.6 cm
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivore
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the forest cuckoo bee?
Where does the forest cuckoo bee live?
Not recorded
Is the forest cuckoo bee 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 forest cuckoo bee classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderHymenoptera
- familyApidae
- genusBombus
- SpeciesBombus sylvestris (Lepeletier, 1832)
Synonyms Apathus brasiliensis, Bombus albicans, Bombus atricans, Bombus atrithorax, Bombus bradleyi, Bombus carelicus, Bombus fuscocitrinus, Psithyrus quadricolor citrinus, Psithyrus quadricolor luctuosus, Psithyrus quadricolor sylvestris, Psithyrus sylvestris, Psithyrus sylvestris albicans, Psithyrus sylvestris atricans, Psithyrus sylvestris atrithorax, Psithyrus sylvestris bimaculatus, Psithyrus sylvestris bradleyi, Psithyrus sylvestris carelicus, Psithyrus sylvestris citrocarelicus, Psithyrus sylvestris citromaculatus, Psithyrus sylvestris citronigrobasalis, Psithyrus sylvestris decoloratus, Psithyrus sylvestris fuscocitrinus, Psithyrus sylvestris maculatus, Psithyrus sylvestris nigrobasalis, Psithyrus sylvestris popovi, Psithyrus sylvestris pseudoquadricolor, Psithyrus sylvestris richardsi
Other names and names in other languages (22)
- Forest cuckoo bumblebeeEnglish
- Four-colored cuckoo-beeEnglish
- Four-coloured cuckoo beeEnglish
- pačmelák lesníCzech
- SkovsnyltehumleDanish
- KuckuckshummelGerman
- Niidu-kägukimalaneEstonian
- pensasloiskimalainenFinnish
- Bourdon parasite du bourdon des présFrench
- seillean-mòr na cuthaig coilleScottish Gaelic
- 떡벌Korean
- Miškinė gegutkamanėLithuanian
- markgjøkhumleNorwegian Bokmål
- Vierkleurige koekoekshommelDutch
- markgaukhumleNorwegian Nynorsk
- Trzmielec leśnyPolish
- Шмель-кукушка леснойRussian
- pačmeľ lesnýSlovak
- ängssnylthumlaSwedish
- Wald-KuckuckshummelGerman
- Psithyre sylvestreFrench
- seilleanan-mòra na cuthaig coilleScottish Gaelic
Relatives of the forest cuckoo bee
Other species in the same genus Bombus.

Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris
Common carder bee
Bombus pascuorum
Stone humble-bee
Bombus lapidarius
Garden bumblebee
Bombus hortorum
Early bumble bee
Bombus pratorum
Tree bumblebee
Bombus hypnorum
CompareForest cuckoo bee vs Buff-tailed bumblebeeForest cuckoo bee vs Common carder beeForest cuckoo bee vs Stone humble-beeForest cuckoo bee vs Garden bumblebee
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the forest cuckoo bee?
An adult forest cuckoo bee measures 1.3 cm – 1.6 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the forest cuckoo bee?
The forest cuckoo bee (Bombus sylvestris) belongs to the family Apidae in the order Hymenoptera.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
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Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - 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). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - Northwestern European arthropod life histories and ecological traits (raw datasets) · CC BY 4.0 · 2024-12-17
Logghe, G., Batsleer, F., Maes, D. et al. (2025) An in-depth dataset of northwestern European arthropod life histories and ecological traits. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e146785. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e146785. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13379714 - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits · CC BY 4.0 · 1.0-2022-06-17
Mull, C.G., Pacoureau, N., Pardo, S.A. et al. (2022) Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits and abundance time-series. Scientific Data 9: 559. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01655-1. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6656525 - SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0-dryad-v5
Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b - 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). Forest cuckoo bee (Bombus sylvestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cuckoo-bee
“Forest cuckoo bee (Bombus sylvestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cuckoo-bee.
@misc{forest_cuckoo_bee_2026,
title = {Forest cuckoo bee (Bombus sylvestris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cuckoo-bee},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}