Gyphy's cuckoo bumblebee
Bombus bohemicus
Habitat
The Gyphy’s cuckoo bumblebee is found throughout Europe and in temperate parts of Asia. This bumblebee species inhabits a variety of landscapes, including sandy soils.
Appearance
Life cycle
The Gyphy’s cuckoo bumblebee can be observed from March to September. In spring, the overwintering queens emerge from hibernation. They hibernate in the ground or under leaves.
The Gyphy’s cuckoo bumblebee does not build its own nest and does not have workers. This bumblebee species parasitizes other bumblebee species, usually the White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) and the Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).
The Gyphy’s cuckoo bumblebee queen invades the nest of the host species. She will often kill the host species or drive the original queen out of the nest. She lays her own eggs in the nest. Because she has no workers of her own, she allows the host species’ workers to care for and feed her offspring.
The larvae develop, but only males and new queens hatch. From late July to early September, the young queens fly out to mate and search for a suitable wintering site. By autumn, the old queen and all the males die.
What can you do?
The Gypshy’s cuckoo bumblebee feeds on nectar and pollen from various plants, such as Brambles (Rubus), Sheep’s-bit (Jasione montana), species from the Heather family (Ericaceae), and species from the Aster family (Asteraceae). You can therefore support this bumblebee species by creating a flower-rich garden with plants that flower from spring to autumn.
Because the Gypshy’s cuckoo bumblebee parasitizes its hosts’ strong nests, a healthy population of common bumblebees is essential. You can ensure this by creating a natural garden, by maintaining areas with some rough grass, flowering weeds, and nesting sites. In addition, you can preserve hibernation sites by not raking away all the leaves in the autumn, where the young queens hibernate.
Ultimately, helping the Gypshy’s cuckoo bumblebee primarily means caring for the common Bumblebees and their habitat. Where their populations are strong, this special Cuckoo bumblebee also gets the chance to survive.
