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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees (Apidae) » Honey, Bumble, Longhorn, Orchid, and Digger Bees (Apinae) » Bumble Bees (Bombini) » Bumble Bees (Bombus) » Subgenus Pyrobombus (Bombus Subgenus Pyrobombus) » Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius) Species Bombus ternarius - Tricolored Bumble Bee
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 ternarius (Tricolored Bumble Bee)
Other Common Names Orange-belted Bumble Bee
Red-tailed Bumble Bee (not recommended, as it also refers to Bombus lapidarius, a Eurasian species) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Bombus ornatus Explanation of Names ternarius refers to the number 3 - in this case, the bee's 3 colors (red, yellow, black), and is the basis of the common name Tricolored Bumble Bee approved by the Entomological Society of America's Committee on the Common Names of Insects Size queen: body length 17-19 mm
male: 9.5-13 mm
worker: 8-13 mm Identification First abdominal segment with yellow hair, segments 2 & 3 reddish-orange, segments 5 and 6 and facial hairs black
see detailed description of queen and male at discoverlife.org
Tongue length rather short but malar space noticeably longer than in B. rufocinctus. Black facial hairs separate females from B. huntii which has very extensive yellow hairs on the face. Males have more black hairs on the tibia than in B. huntii. Range Yukon to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia; widespread in the United States but rarely observed south of Pennsylvania
Habitat Often associated with extensive stands of goldenrod in open woodlands and meadows. Food Workers and males are most often found visiting composites (Asteraceae). The Hosts section of its Discover Life species page lists known associations based on specimen records and images. Internet References 26 pinned adult images plus detailed description of queen and male, distribution, seasonality, flower records (discoverlife.org)
common name reference; PDF doc [Tricolored Bumble Bee] (Committee on Common Names of Insects, Entomological Society of America)
biology and behavior plus common name reference [Orange-belted Bumble Bee] (U. of Maine)
live adult image and common name reference [Red-tailed Bumble Bee] (David Cappaert, insectimages.org)
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