Early bumblebee: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the early bumblebee lives – recorded in 14 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Bombus pratorum
Group	Bees, wasps & ants
Found in	14 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Apidae

Where does the early bumblebee live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the early bumblebee in 14 countries and territories across Europe. Wikidata gives its range as: Luxembourg.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the early bumblebee?

The early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is an insect in the order Hymenoptera and the family Apidae, genus Bombus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the early bumblebee

The early bumblebee or early-nesting bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in most of Europe and parts of Asia. It is very commonly found in the UK and emerges to begin its colony cycle as soon as February which is earlier than most other species, hence its common name. There is even some evidence that the early bumblebee may be able to go through two colony cycles in a year. Like other bumblebees, Bombus pratorum lives in colonies with queen and worker castes. Bombus pratorum queens use aggressive behavior rather than pheromones to maintain dominance over the workers.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Early bumblebee (revision 1354640414), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q203691 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).