Bombus bohemicus, also known as the gypsy's cuckoo bumblebee, is a species of socially parasitic cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe with the exception of the southern Iberian Peninsula and Iceland. B. bohemicus practices inquilinism, or brood parasitism, of other bumblebee species. B. bohemicus is a generalist parasite, successfully invading several species from genus Bombus. The invading queen mimics the host nest's chemical signals, allowing her to assume a reproductively dominant role as well as manipulation of host worker fertility and behavior.
Image: Bombus bohemicus Dactylorhiza fuchsii Keila
Image: Jordgjøkhumle m Bombus bohemicus
Image: Bombus bohemicus Keila
A bumblebee is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals.
Image: Bombus lapidarius Melilotus officinalis Tallinn
Image: Bombus distribution
Beatrix Potter's 1910 story The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse features a "bumble bee" called Babbity Bumble
Bombus pristinus described in 1867