I'm glad someone pointed out this Bumble Bee on yesterday's ramble because it prompted me to go and do a bit of bumble bee study, an area completely new to me. I posted the photo on a couple of wildlife forums and have had it identified by several experts as Bombus cryptarum, a recently separated species from Bombus lucorum (White-tailed Bumble Bee). The black nick in its collar is the key (where wing meets body), otherwise this species is apparently nigh impossible to differentiate from lucorum. The NBN gateway shows that this species is almost entirely restricted to Scotland, but there are no records for Islay or Jura, so could this be a first?
Becky
