What Species Are Bumblebees?

Bombus fraternus

• The Bombus fraternus has a black head, yellow thorax and an abdomen that is yellow with black on the bottom end. They can be found in the Eastern United States from New Jersey to Florida. They also are found in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Colorado.

Bombus lucorum

• This species of bumblebee can be found mainly in Alaska to Southern British Columbia, Yukon and North Western Territories of Canada. The queen is larger than the worker bees and has yellow and black stripes on the abdomen; workers have nearly identical markings but are smaller in size. Males of the B. lucorum appear more yellow and have three yellow and two black stripes on their abdomen.

Bombus huntii

• The B. huntii has a unique marking of orange and yellow stripes found on the abdomen and a black mark near the stinger. There usually is a black bar between the wings. The last abdominal section is black, They can be found from British Columbia, Alberta to California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico.

Bombus affinis

• A once common bumblebee, the B. affinis has been declining in numbers since 1990. It also is known as the rusty-patched bumblebee, and it can be identified by a bald patch found between its wings in the middle of its thorax. Conservation efforts have been made by The Xerces Society to try to save this and other species from becoming extinct. Major threats to B. affinis are in the form of commercially produced bees to pollinate crops in North America. These commercial bees are thought to carry a disease that is harmful to the wild B. affinis species.

Bombus occidentalis

• Another species that was once widespread in the Western United States has been declining since 1990. These bees can be found foraging on red flowers and robbing nectar from hummingbird pollinated flowers. Markings on this species are yellow and black stripes on the abdomen, a yellow mark just below the head and a black thorax. Some threats to the species that have been found are invasive plants competing with their native plant food sources and insecticide used on crops.