BO MB US SYL VARUM 191 



14. BOMBUS SYLVARUM, Linnaeus. 



Shrill Carder-bee. 



QUEEN. Small; length 16-18 mm., expanse 29- 

 32 mm. 



The prevailing colour is greenish-white, often with a 

 yellowish tinge. On the top of the head and in the centre 

 of the thorax this colour shades into black. On the 2nd seg- 

 ment of the abdomen there are traces of a black band, at least 

 at the sides ; the 3rd segment is black with a narrow band 

 of greenish-white at its edge ; 4th and following segments 

 orange, each with a narrow band of greenish-white at its 

 edge. 



The pale colour on the 2nd segment often shades into 

 a deeper, more distinctly yellow tint, and there are often 

 black hairs at the base of the 4th segment. 



Coat rather thin and uneven, not long. 



Worker. Length 10-15 mm. 

 Resembles the queen except in size. 



Male. Length 13-14 mm., expanse 23-26 mm. 



Coloured like the queen, but the red on the 4th segment 

 is generally displaced by black. 



Quality of coat as in B. derhamellus. 



Antennae as in derhamellus, but the 3rd joint very 

 little longer than the 4th. 



Armature distinct, but approaching that of B. der- 

 hamellus. 



This species is widely distributed in England 

 and Ireland, and common in a good many places, 

 but it appears to be rare in Scotland, and has not 

 been found in the north of Scotland. The queens 

 and workers are very agile, both in the nest and 

 on the wing, and their hum is more shrill than that 

 of any other species. The nest is usually on the 



