Species Bombus bifarius - Colorado Black-notched Bumble Bee

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Bumble Bee - Bombus vancouverensis - female

Bombus 01a - Bombus vancouverensis - female

Bumble Bee - Bombus vancouverensis - male

What kind of Bumble bee is this? - Bombus vancouverensis - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)

No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)

Family Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees)

Subfamily Apinae (Honey, Bumble, Longhorn, Orchid, and Digger Bees)

Tribe Bombini (Bumble Bees)

Genus Bombus (Bumble Bees)

No Taxon (Subgenus Pyrobombus)

Species bifarius (Colorado Black-notched Bumble Bee)

Other Common Names

Black-notched Bumble Bee [in the broad sense this includes Bombus vancouverensis, now considered a separate species, hence the need for an additional "Colorado" qualifier]

Explanation of Names

Author: Cresson, 1878.

Common name proposed here refers to the black notch bisecting the scutellum.

Size

Relatively small

Identification

In both sexes the most distinctive feature is the medial notch of black hairs bisecting the scutellum more conspicuous than in other species (approached but not matched in ternarius and sylvicola). Facial hairs of female extensively yellow (vs. largely black in B. sylvicola). Color of T2-T3 highly variable in this species sensu lato, but black (nearcticus form) mixed individuals mostly belong to what is now considered a spearate species, B. vancouverensis. In the narrow sense, B. bifarius usually has T2-T3 mostly or entirely red

Range

Rocky Mountains of Colorado and nearby states including Wyoming amd Utah.

This species as traditionally recognized occurs very widely in Western North America, but all records from Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific States and others in the far west such as Idaho pertain to what is now considered a separate species, B. vancouverensis.

Food

A generalist favoring open flowers such as composites. The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known associations based on specimen records and images.

Remarks

An abundant and widely distributed species.

See Also

Western specimens recently separated to - Bombus vancouverensis

Print References

Ghisbain, G., Lozier, J. D., Rahman, S. R., Ezray, B. D., Tian, L., Ulmer, J. M., Heraghty, S. D., Strange, J. P., Rasmont, P., & Hines, H. M. (2020). Substantial genetic divergence and lack of recent gene flow support cryptic speciation in a colour polymorphic bumble bee ( Bombus bifarius ) species complex. Systematic Entomology, 45(3), 635–652. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12419 (1)

Internet References

Discover Life.

Natural History Museum.

Works Cited

1.	Substantial genetic divergence and lack of recent gene flow support cryptic speciation in a colour polymorphic bumble bee

Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 22 May, 2008 - 3:27pm
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, John S. Ascher, Nathaniel Green
Last updated 28 August, 2022 - 10:20pm

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