The common carder bee is a fluffy, ginger colored bumble bee present in most of Europe. It emerges early in the spring and is found anywhere there are flowers to feed on, e.g. in gardens, farmland, woodland, hedgerows and heaths.
Carder bees have a body length of 1.3 cm and a long tongue. They differ from other bumblebees in that they usually make their nests above ground in tussocky grass, under hedges and in plant litter, rather than under the ground. However, old mammal holes close to the ground surface are sometimes used. They gather dried grass and moss that they comb or ‘card’ to cover their nests, hence their name ‘carder bees’.