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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) » Black-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus melanopygus)
Photo#46677
Bumble Bee? - Bombus melanopygus - female
Copyright © 2006 Chuck Entz

Bumble Bee? - Bombus melanopygus - Female
Encino, Los Angeles County, California, USA
April 2, 2006
Size: 1 inch
Nectaring on Rose Geranium (Pelargonium 'Old-Fashioned Rose') in my front yard.

Images of this individual: tag all
Bumble Bee? - Bombus melanopygus - female Bumble Bee? - Bombus melanopygus - female
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Contributed by Chuck Entz on 2 April, 2006 - 11:37pm
Last updated 15 January, 2008 - 3:20pm

Moved
Moved from Bumble Bees.
… Chuck Entz, 27 September, 2006 - 1:08am login or register to post comments

B. melanopygus
edwardsii color form
… John S. Ascher, 26 September, 2006 - 10:51pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
for the confirmation.
… Chuck Entz, 27 September, 2006 - 1:10am login or register to post comments

Given where the photo was tak
Given where the photo was taken, the bee is probably Bombus melanopygus edwardsii. (Bombus edwardsii was determined to be a subspecies of Bombus melanopygus around 20 years ago.)
… Domingo Zungri, 16 July, 2006 - 9:29pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
I make the most of the resources I can find, but there's no substitute for someone with a professional background in the subject
… Chuck Entz, 30 July, 2006 - 11:25pm login or register to post comments

Bombus bifarius nearcticus
Looks like B. bifarius nearcticus according to Kearns-Thomson,2001.
… Adalbert Goertz, 25 April, 2006 - 5:44pm login or register to post comments

 
Not so sure...
According to California Insect Survey v.23 (PDF format- about 7 MB), Bombus bifarius (nearcticus included) is a montane species not found in Southern California.

The species not eliminated by range are: Bombus crotchii Cresson , Bombus vosnesenskii Radoszkowski, Bombus californicus F. Smith, Bombus sonorus Say, Bombus edwardsii Cresson, and perhaps Bombus vandykei (Frison). How that translates to taxa in your 2001 source, I don't know.
… Chuck Entz, 26 April, 2006 - 1:18am login or register to post comments

Bombus bifarius nearcticus
Looks like B. bifarius nearcticus.
… Adalbert Goertz, 25 April, 2006 - 5:41pm login or register to post comments

Yes - Bombus sp. (female)
A nice long - "tongued" species (subgenus or genus Megabombus), strongly reminding of Palearctic B. hortorum and B. ruderatus, to which it is obviously closely related.
… Richard Vernier, 3 April, 2006 - 7:06am login or register to post comments

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