[1] This species is the largest bumblebee in Britain and it uses its long face and tongue to pollinate hard-to-reach tubed flowers.

[1] Due to numerous physical similarities, many scientists have suggested reassessing their current status as two distinct species.

[8] Bombus ruderatus is naturally found in Europe and north Africa, favoring large flower-rich areas of meadowland that support numerous species of plants with long-corolla flowers.

Specifically in Europe, this species is present in Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland.

Many parts of the world, including western Europe and North America, have seen declining populations of their native bumblebees due to many contributing factors.

[1] In Britain specifically, habitat fragmentation has led to declines in B. ruderatus, in both population size and pollination range.

[2] In New Zealand, colonies started by natural queens of Bombus ruderatus tended to have a male-biased sex ratio.

[12] In Argentina, Bombus ruderatus is most commonly found feeding from plant species from families Fabaceae, Alstroemeriaceae, and Rosaceae.

[10] Apicystis bombi can have many negative effects in bee populations due to it high virulence, its generalism for many different bumblebee species, and its ability to affect both commercially produced and native born colonies.

[10] B. terrestris was introduced in Argentina in 2006, and before this time, Apicystis bombi had not been found in any native or invasive species of bee.

[10] The spread of parasites can happen through a process known as pathogen spillover, which may be a contributing factor to the declining bumblebee populations.

[6] Chile is an important exporter in red clover seeds and thus their agricultural and economic success may depend on the effectiveness of bee pollination.

Although there have been positive agricultural benefits from increased seed production, negative consequences, in terms of decreased native populations have been observed as well.

[4] Recently, the European Union has introduced agri-environment plans that can be used to pay farmers to manage their land in a way that benefits bee species.

[4] Britain adopted the Environmental Stewardship scheme with the goal of enhancing the supply of pollen and nectar sources for bumblebees.