Subgenus Bombias

Bombias Robertson 1903

2 spp. in our area + 1 sp. in the Palaearctic (3 spp. total)(1)

Males have conspicuously large eyes and modified antennae. Females with ocelli low on face. Midleg with sharp angle.

holarctic group; B. auricomus occurs mostly east of the Rockies, while B. nevadensis occurs in Western North America. Records of B. nevadensis from eastern North America pertain to auricomus, which has often been considered a mere subspecies (map)(1)

Open grasslands and mountain meadows(2)

Late-emerging

Both species prefer open habitats so have no doubt declined due to loss of grasslands and, in areas such as the Northeastern United States, due to regrowth of forests. Their mating and nesting behavior is unusual reflecting their phylogenetic position outside (sister to) all other North American species.