CreatureData

Hill cuckoo bee

Bombus rupestris (Fabricius, 1793)

Status not recordedbees wasps and ants

The hill cuckoo bee (Bombus rupestris) is a species in the family Apidae, order Hymenoptera. Recorded adults reach 2.4 cm in length.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the hill cuckoo bee

Weight
Not recorded
Length
1.5 cm – 2.4 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 hill cuckoo bee?

HILL CUCKOO BEE · LENGTH 2.4 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 2.4 cm, the recorded maximum length of the hill cuckoo bee is about 1.4% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the hill cuckoo bee live?

Not recorded

Is the hill 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 hill cuckoo bee classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderHymenoptera
  5. familyApidae
  6. genusBombus
  7. SpeciesBombus rupestris (Fabricius, 1793)

Synonyms Apis albinella, Apis arenaria, Apis frutetorum, Apis rupe, Apis rupestris, Bombus albinellus, Bombus obscurus, Bombus rupestris buyssoni, Bombus rupestris vasco, Psithyrus frutetorum interruptus, Psithyrus interruptus, Psithyrus pyrenaeus, Psithyrus rupestris, Psithyrus rupestris arnoldi, Psithyrus rupestris buyssoni, Psithyrus rupestris dobrotvorski, Psithyrus rupestris flavidus, Psithyrus rupestris flavonicus, Psithyrus rupestris hispanicus, Psithyrus rupestris interruptus, Psithyrus rupestris orientalis, Psithyrus rupestris pseudoflavonicus, Psithyrus rupestris pyrenaeus, Psithyrus rupestris rufescens, Psithyrus rupestris sahunensis, Psithyrus rupestris siculus, Psithyrus rupestris solowiowi, Psithyrus rupestris valesianus, Psithyrus rupestris vasco, Psithyrus ruprestris armeniacus, Psithyrus vasco

Other names and names in other languages (23)
  • Hill cuckoo bumble beeEnglish
  • Hill cuckoo-beeEnglish
  • Red-tailed (hill) cuckoo beeEnglish
  • Red-tailed cuckoo beeEnglish
  • Red-tailed cuckoo bumble beeEnglish
  • pačmelák cizopasnýCzech
  • StensnyltehumleDanish
  • Felsen-KuckuckshummelGerman
  • Kivi-kägukimalaneEstonian
  • kivikkoloiskimalainenFinnish
  • Psithyre des rochersFrench
  • kövi kakukkposzméhHungarian
  • Juodoji gegutkamanėLithuanian
  • steingjøkhumleNorwegian Bokmål
  • Rode koekoekshommelDutch
  • steingaukhumleNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Trzmielec czarnyPolish
  • Шмель-кукушка каменныйRussian
  • pačmeľ skalnýSlovak
  • stensnylthumlaSwedish
  • Джміль-зозуля скельнийUkrainian
  • Rotschwarze KuckuckshummelGerman
  • Шмель-кукушка каменного шмеляRussian

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the hill cuckoo bee

Other species in the same genus Bombus.

CompareHill cuckoo bee vs Buff-tailed bumblebeeHill cuckoo bee vs Common carder beeHill cuckoo bee vs Stone humble-beeHill cuckoo bee vs Garden bumblebee

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the hill cuckoo bee?

An adult hill cuckoo bee measures 1.5 cm – 2.4 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the hill cuckoo bee?

The hill cuckoo bee (Bombus rupestris) 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.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Hill cuckoo bee (Bombus rupestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hill-cuckoo-bee

MLA

“Hill cuckoo bee (Bombus rupestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hill-cuckoo-bee.

BibTeX
@misc{hill_cuckoo_bee_2026,
  title = {Hill cuckoo bee (Bombus rupestris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hill-cuckoo-bee},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}