Bumblebees – who are they and what do they look like? Bumblebees are insects with a burly, furry and colourful appearance. They are members of the bee genus Bombus in the family Apidae. People have given them different names and they can be met in forests, fields, meadows and gardens, both in the countryside and in towns. Bumblebees can be found throughout the world except for Australia and the Tropics. There are over 250 species of bumblebees in the world of which 68 species can be found in Europe. Bumblebees can be divided into true bumblebees and their nest parasites, known as cuckoo bumblebees. In Estonia 21 species of true bumblebees and 8 species of cuckoo bumblebees are found – 18 species of the true bumblebees belong to the species of the conservation category III of the Nature Conservation Act. This publication focuses mainly on true bumblebees (henceforth referred to a bumblebees).