[3] Accordingly, this bumblebee mainly visits flowers with deep corollae, such as deadnettles, ground ivy, vetches, clovers, comfrey, foxglove, and thistles.

The median ocellus was found to possess a much wider acceptance angle and a higher UV : green receptor cell ratio than the compound eye.

In the south, it extends to the middle of the Iberian Peninsula, to southern Italy (Calabria), northern Turkey, and to the Mediterranean islands except Corsica, Sicily, and (probably) Sardinia.

[3] In a study analyzing spatial patterns of Bombus in different habitats, it was discovered that B. hortorum are most abundant in recently cattle-grazed grasslands, as compared to arable, sheep-grazed, unmanaged, and disturbed land plots.

Cattle play an important role in the habitat of Bombus species because their feeding actions in grasslands cause a more diverse floral environment, which is preferred by the bumblebees for their own foraging behavior.

[10] Due to their localized lifestyle and the destruction and loss of grassland habitats, Bombus hortorum populations are expected to decline in the future.

[3] In order to address the conservation of Bombus hortorum, it is important that large areas of foraging plant diversity and nesting sites either receive no intervention as to foster a natural habitat, or are extensively grazed by cattle during the summer in order to promote plant diversity and create an environment rich in favored flowers for Bombus.

Thus, they prefer grassland habitats with ample sunlight reaching the land in order to ensure secure and warm nests beneath the ground.

[6] At the end of the species’ season in the winter, mated queens search for hibernation sites underground while the rest of the colony dies off.

[6] Instead, they collect food independently using a method called ‘trap-lining', in which individuals follow a regular route and visit the same flowers each time they forage.

[14] As with most bumblebees, the males of this species patrol a fixed circuit, marking objects along the route, about a meter above ground, with a pheromone to attract queens.

[15] This lack of perforation is thought to be attributed to the species' extremely long tongue length, which sufficiently reaches the nectar without any trouble.

In a study examining diet preferences of Bombus hortorum, it was determined that foraging behavior of individual bumblebees affects isolation and hybridization of flowering plants.

Because B. hortorum has better visual sensitivity compared to other bees, they can start foraging earlier in the morning and return to their nests later in the day.

[6] B. hortorum exhibit buzz pollination, a foraging behavior in which they generate vibrations that are transmitted onto the anthers of flowers, thus ejecting the pollen that they gather and then consume.

In a study comparing other Bombus species, B. hortorum was found to create higher buzz amplitudes, thus making more efficient at collecting pollen.

[17] B. hortorum exhibit traplining, a foraging behavior in which they visit the same feeding areas using regular routes that they repeat over several days.

Using their preferred routes, Bombus individuals move between plant groups and forage patches as they search for pollen and nectar to consume.

[19] In a study assessing the movement behavior and flight distances of Bombus hortorum, radio tracking was used as a method to gather data on the bee's routes.

The bees took unusually long periods of rest and cleaning in the middle of their flight - one individual took breaks longer than forty-five minutes - in response to the extra weight and disturbance.

[13] Bombus hortorum serve as hosts for Crithidia bombi, a widespread gut parasite that is present in many bumblebee species.

C. bombi’s dominant route of infection into Bombus individuals is by ingestion of the infectious agents by larvae from the workers that feed them.

Bumblebee colonies that exhibit little variety in their gene pool, as a result of inbreeding, tend to have a higher occurrence of C. bombi as compared to Bombus populations with high levels of heterozygosity.

Pesticides can impact the B. hortorum colonies by reducing brood development and also impairs their memory, preventing them from remembering the locations of their foraging sites and nests.