Bees galore

How lovely to see lots and lots of bees in my garden, all over a rhododendron bush and a flowering hedge. Looking closely at them, I noticed a white tail on many of them - I like to know what kind of creature I've seen so I open my bee book eagerly - to find that the buff tailed and white tailed bees are virtually indistinguishable, at least by one with poor eyesight and no inclination to get stung. Ah well, it was one or the other!

See if you can tell the difference:

Buff tailed bumble bee (NB only the queen's tail is buff, all others have a white tail)

White tailed bumble bee

Let me know if you're finding it any easier than I am!