This is a rather nicely marked species, with fresh workers possessing pale yellow hairs on the thorax and yellow-orange hairs on the abdomen. The top of the thorax is covered in black hairs, which gives the species its common name. It is a montane species, distributed in southern and central Europe.

Distribution: The mountains and hills of southern and central Europe, from the Picos de Europa east wards through the Pyrenees, western and central Alps, Appenines and the higher Balkan mountain ranges. Older records also exist for various parts of Germany, the eastern Alps, the  Carpathians, the Tatras and hilly areas of Poland, Czechia and Hungary.

Flight period: Queens emerge in May, workers in June and July and males in July and August. It generally disappears by late September.

Habitat: An inhabitant of flower-rich woodland edges and clearings, dry flowery pastures and alpine meadows.

Flowers visited: A wide variety of flowers are visited including thistles, knapweeds, clovers,dead-nettles, germanders and other flowers.

Personal records: I have recorded this species in the valleys surrounding the village of Cogne in NW Italy. It was one of the most frequent bumblebee species in these valleys and typically occured in sunny forest clearings and subalpine pasture between 1700-2100m.