Europe eastwards into western Asia; records are concentrated in temperate habitats.
Fine-art photographic collection
Bombus mesomelas
A long-tongued mountain bumblebee whose workers can force plants to flower sooner.
About this species
Black-backed Bumble Bee
Bombus mesomelasGerstäcker, 1869
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Bombus mesomelas is a European mountain and meadow bumblebee adapted to deep flowers and cool upland habitats. Colonies are modest in size, but workers have been recorded manipulating plants when pollen is scarce.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Apidae · Bombus
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and western AsiaBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Flower-rich open habitat, woodland edge, farmland or upland habitat according to the species and region.
Diurnal; workers forage during the colony season.
Adults use nectar for energy; pollen is collected to feed developing brood.
Eusocial colony with a queen and female workers; colony cycle varies with climate.
What makes this species remarkable?
Its unusually long tongue reaches nectar deep inside tubular flowers that many shorter-tongued insects cannot exploit efficiently.
Colonies commonly contain only dozens to a little over one hundred workers, all produced by a single queen during one short mountain summer.
Workers have been observed biting holes in leaves when pollen is scarce, damage that can trigger plants to flower earlier than undamaged controls.