What to look for: Impressive fuzzy ginger hair on top, opposite pronounced brown bands that cut across their abdomens
Favourite plants: Wildflowers, including clover and knapweed
Making a nest: Social bees that colonise holes in trees or bird boxes
When active: Southern England and Wales
Where seen: Spring to summer
Brown-banded carder bee
These are some of the rarest of all the carder bee species in the UK. These bumblebees boast impressive ginger tufts of hair opposite pronounced brown bands that cut across their abdomens. They are more regularly seen exploring the wildflowers like clover, knapweed, red barista and other similar flower species that fill grasslands, heaths and brownfield sites. They live in colonies and nest in cavities in trees or unoccupied bird boxes.