Humblebumblebee

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "humble-bee" predates the use of the word "bumblebee" - the former having first appeared in print in 1450, and the latter in 1530 - but they were then used almost interchangeably until the middle of the last century, when "humblebee" fell out of use. In this context, bumble is thought to refer to the humming or droning noise made by these bees when they fly, as does the genus name Bombus, which is the Latin word for a booming, humming or buzzing sound - and it seems reasonable to assume that humble also referred to the humming sound of the bees' flight, rather than being any kind of statement on their attitude or status.

This bee, though, is the other kind of humble: she's a Bombus humilis, or Brown-banded Carder Bee, and in Latin humilis means lowly, common or poor. I'm slightly offended on her behalf, I must say, because not only is Bombus humilis one of the three 'lifer' bee species I've recorded so far this season, and therefore dear to my collector's soul, but she's also pretty gorgeous. In my humblebee opinion. 

At a quick glance the Brown-banded Carder doesn't look too different from the Common Carder - particularly from this angle, which doesn't show the abdomen well. In contrast with the dark-striped abdomen of the Common Carder, the hair on the Brown-banded Carder's abdomen is entirely buff and brown, with no black hair  - a fact which is especially obvious in flight. This image does show a hint of the brown band across the upper part of the abdomen which gives the species its common name. The hair on the sides of the Brown-banded Carder's thorax is also paler than in most (though not all) Common Carders, and crucially, the leg hairs are mainly white or buff, whereas in the Common Carder they're primarily black.

Speaking of legs, this bee is a worker (she's tiny compared with the massive queen I first saw in this same spot about three weeks ago), and there's the beginning of a pollen ball on her hind leg. Until this sighting I had no way of being sure that the queen wasn't simply passing through, but this is evidence of nesting, which makes me very happy indeed. According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, "Brown-banded bumblebees usually nest on the surface of the ground amongst long grass or mossy vegetation", so for the rest of this summer I'll avoid straying from the path into the waist-high grass of Tilly's field, for fear of disturbing the nest.