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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Anthophila (Apoidea) - Bees » Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees (Apidae) » Honey, Bumble, and Digger Bees (Apinae) » Bumble Bees (Bombini) » Bumble Bees (Bombus) » Subgenus Thoracobombus (Bombus Subgenus Thoracobombus) » Golden Northern Bumble Bee (Bombus fervidus)

Species Bombus fervidus - Golden Northern Bumble Bee

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Season · See Also · Internet References
Golden Northern Bumble Bee - Bombus fervidus - female Which bombus, please-us? - Bombus fervidus - female Queen Bumblebee - Bombus fervidus - female Golden Northern Bumble Bee - Bombus fervidus - male Bee on Sidewalk - Bombus fervidus - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Anthophila (Apoidea) - Bees)
Family Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees)
Subfamily Apinae (Honey, Bumble, and Digger Bees)
Tribe Bombini (Bumble Bees)
Genus Bombus (Bumble Bees)
No Taxon (Subgenus Thoracobombus)
Species fervidus (Golden Northern Bumble Bee)
Other Common Names
Yellow Bumble Bee
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Bombus elatus; B. consanguineus; B. sonomae - discoverlife.org
Size
queen: body length 19-21 mm
male: 11-20 mm
worker: 10.5-11 mm
Identification
They are thick and hairy. The face and head is mostly black and there is a black band across the thorax between the wings. The abdomen (back body section) is mostly yellow with black at the rear end. Wings are smoky.
see detailed description of queen and male at discoverlife.org
Range
U. of Michigan says "...found throughout the northern part of the United States down to the northern portions of Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Populations are most concentrated in the North Eastern part of the United States."
discoverlife.org says "Quebec and New Brunswick to Georgia, west to the Pacific Coast"
Season
May to October
See Also
B. californicus
Internet References
29 pinned adult images plus synonyms, detailed description of queen and male, distribution, seasonality, flower records (discoverlife.org)
extensive overview including common name reference [Golden Northern Bumble Bee] (Sara Diamond, University of Michigan)
common name reference; PDF doc [Yellow Bumble Bee] (Committee on Common Names of Insects, Entomological Society of America)
color variation diagrams of workers (Natural History Musuem, UK)
taxonomic status discussion and photos of male genitalia (Natural History Museum, UK)
Discover Life
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 4 July, 2005 - 8:45pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Robin McLeod
Last updated 8 May, 2008 - 7:31am

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