Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

National Moth Week photos of insects and people. Here's how to add your images.

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 BugGuide Gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Discussion, insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Photos of insects and people from the 2014 gathering in Virginia, June 4-7.

Photos of insects and people from the 2013 gathering in Arizona, July 25-28

Photos of insects and people from the 2012 gathering in Alabama

Photos of insects and people from the 2011 gathering in Iowa
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Anthophila (Apoidea) - Bees » Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees (Apidae) » Honey, Bumble, Longhorn, Orchid, and Digger Bees (Apinae) » Bumble Bees (Bombini) » Bumble Bees (Bombus) » Subgenus Psithyrus (Bombus Subgenus Psithyrus)

Subgenus Psithyrus

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Internet References · Works Cited
Anthophora sp. ?? - Bombus insularis - male Bombus sp. 4 - Bombus insularis - female Bombus 6-05-10 06b - Bombus fernaldae Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, lateral - Bombus citrinus - female Bumble - Bombus insularis Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee - Bombus citrinus - male Bee on Helianthus annuus. - Bombus insularis - male Bombus fernaldae? - Bombus fernaldae
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 (Anthophila (Apoidea) - 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 Psithyrus
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
used to be treated as a separate genus (discussion + list and distribution of world spp.)(1)
Numbers
6 spp. in our area, 30 spp. total(2)
Size
Males are much smaller than females.
Identification
Females differ from those of all other Bombus in having the outer surface of the hind tibia convex and densely hairy (flat or concave and largely bare in other, pollen-collecting Bombus). Males have small heads and often have conspicuous bare patches on the apical terga medially.
Range
holarctic, most diverse in Eurasia; in our area, widespread: 4 spp. are transcontinental in the north and range south along the Rockies (except B. ashtoni), B. citrinus ne. US + adjacent Canada, B. variabilis e. half of the US (+QC) to AZ in the south(2)
Food
Social parasites of other bumble bees.
Life Cycle
There is no worker caste, the females invade Bombus nests and lay eggs there to be reared by the hosts(1)
Internet References
Natural History Museum
Mol.Phylogent. Evol. A phylogenetic analysis of cuckoo bumblebees (Psithyrus, Lepeletier) and bumblebees (Bombus, Latreille) inferred from sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I.
Works Cited
1.Bombus bumblebees of the world
2.Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2017) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 18 November, 2008 - 3:49pm
Additional contributions by Ted Kropiewnicki, John S. Ascher, v belov
Last updated 28 November, 2015 - 5:01pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2020 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact