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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) » Twospotted Bumble Bee (Bombus bimaculatus)

Species Bombus bimaculatus - Twospotted Bumble Bee

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · Internet References
Drone Bumblebee - Bombus bimaculatus - male Bombus bimaculatus - female Bombus bimaculatus Queen Bumblebee - Bombus bimaculatus - female Bumblebee - Bombus bimaculatus Bumblebee - Bombus bimaculatus Bombus Griseocollis? - Bombus bimaculatus - female Bombus Griseocollis? - Bombus bimaculatus - female
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)
Species bimaculatus (Twospotted Bumble Bee)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly Bombus ridingsii
Explanation of Names
the specific epithet and common name refers to the two distinctive yellow markings on the abdomen
Size
queen: body length 17-22 mm
male: 13-14.5 mm
worker: 11-16 mm
Identification
see detailed description of queen and male at discoverlife.org; worker is very similar to queen but smaller
Range
eastern North America: Ontario to Maine, south to Florida, west to Mississippi

Discover Life Global Map
Season
March to September; as early as February in Florida
Food
This species has an extra-long tongue, so it can feed on long floral tubes.
Remarks
described by Cresson in 1863
Internet References
Discover Life
status in Iowa and extensive info on bumble bees in general (holoweb.com, Minnesota)
link to photos of male genitalia (Natural History Musuem, UK)
common name reference; PDF doc (Committee on Common Names of Insects, Entomological Society of America)
Contributed by Lynette Schimming on 30 September, 2006 - 3:52pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, John S. Ascher
Last updated 27 December, 2007 - 2:04pm

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