The brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis) is a bumblebee found in most of Europe west of Russia, with the exception of Ireland and Iceland.

It is also found in Turkey,[1] on the Tibetan plateau, northern China, eastern and southern Mongolia, and parts of North Korea.

The queen emerges from hibernation in the spring and makes a nest on the surface of the ground, preferable among grass tufts.

[2] Among the plants visited are Trifolium pratense (red clover), Centaurea (knapweed) and Vicia (vetches).

[6] As Goulson, Hanley, Darvill, Ellis, and Knight have pointed out, a contributing factor in the northern part of its distribution (including Britain) is that B. humilis, being near the edge of its latitudinal range, is not well adapted to local conditions, so is sensitive to habitat changes, especially loss of unimproved grassland meadows.