Bee Id please

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Repwoc

Drone Bee
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Joined
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Location
Newport, South Wales
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
>6
Just had a call from someone who says there are some of these in her porch.

BeesInPorch.jpg

Is it a Common Carder?
 
I think so. They have very long tongues for a relatively small bumble
 

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Yep Bombus pascuorum. This is a species that typically nests above ground in clumps of grasses or under anything that may be left on the ground long enough and are the most likely to be disturbed as people start to tidy gardens after the summer. One of our later flying bumblebees.
 
Bombus pascuorum nest exposed for photo and then immediately covered over again and protected from further disturbance til end of their season.
 

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can anyone recommend a good book with good pictures that identifies all the different bee's please.

I have a black and white one that nests in my lawn every year … fascinating to watch.
 
That sounds like the Ashy Mining Bee. Does it look like this one:
 

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Yep Bombus pascuorum. This is a species that typically nests above ground in clumps of grasses or under anything that may be left on the ground long enough and are the most likely to be disturbed as people start to tidy gardens after the summer. One of our later flying bumblebees.

I left a winter hive cosy upturned in the long grass at the apiary and by the time I got round to moving it there was a substantial B pascuorum nest underneath. I put a couple of bricks on it making sure they could still get out and left them to their cosy nest all summer. A mouse slept there over winter.
 
I recommend the following Book

Field guide to the Bees of GB and Ireland by Steven Falk

iliustrated by Richard Lewington published by Bloomsbury
 

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