Other Common Names
Use of the possessive is generally preferred when citing common names (see AOU and BOU bird checklists, e.g., Forster's Tern).
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Psithyrus latitarsus Morrill, 1903
Psithyrus suckleyi (Greene, 1860)
Explanation of Names
Author of species is Greene, 1860.
Identification
Hairs of female face black unlike insularis. Lateral projections of female sterna more pronounced than in other species.
A photo identified as a female suckleyi in the Williams et al. identification guide appears to be fernaldae instead. Note the large patch of yellow hairs on the vertex.
Range
Western North America. Scattered records from eastern North America mapped in the Williams et al. guide are at best inadequately documented and inconsistent with their statement that a disjunct population occurs in NL (Canada).
Habitat
Expected at mountain sites with abundant B. occidentalis.
Life Cycle
Social parasite of Bombus occidentalis and likely other Bombus (Bombus). Both sexes regularly visit flowers for nectar. The Hosts section of its
Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records.
Remarks
Declined severely since the late 1990s along with its hosts such as Bombus occidentalis. Whereas loss of its hosts, i.e. species of Bombus (Bombus) has received much attention, this species and B. ashtoni (associated with B. terricola) may be at even greater risk
**Listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species** 
