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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 Thoracobombus (Bombus Subgenus Thoracobombus) » American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)
Photo#847982
Is this a bumble bee? - Bombus pensylvanicus
Copyright © 2013 Dickenson

Is this a bumble bee? - Bombus pensylvanicus
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
September 27, 2013
Size: About the size of a quart
Is this a giant bee? It looks like a bumble bee but is about the size of a quarter! It's super fuzzy too.
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Contributed by Dickenson on 27 September, 2013 - 3:32pm
Last updated 8 February, 2014 - 9:14pm

Moved
Moved from Bumble Bees.
… John S. Ascher, 8 February, 2014 - 9:14pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… v belov, 10 October, 2013 - 11:44am login or register to post comments

Try the American Bumble Bee
Bombus pensylvanicus
… Alex Harman, 27 September, 2013 - 11:07pm login or register to post comments

 
Maybe? My guide shows the So
Maybe? My guide shows the Sonoran subspecies having more yellow - the rear half of the thorax and T1 both being yellow, rather than black as they appear in the picture here (and in the one you linked). Could be a stray pensylvanicus from the eastern US, though, which does match.

Does anyone know if ssp sonorus has any variation that would match this? It seems like the most likely explanation...
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 28 September, 2013 - 1:58am login or register to post comments

 
pensylvanicus sensu stricto is known W to NM
i.e. pensylvanicus from the eastern US is in fact known to be resident there
… John S. Ascher, 8 February, 2014 - 9:13pm login or register to post comments

 
Ahh, excellent - thanks for t
Ahh, excellent - thanks for the clarification!
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 8 February, 2014 - 9:14pm login or register to post comments

My first thought was a carpen
My first thought was a carpenter bee (Xylocopa), but Xylocopa californica doesn't have yellow as far as I know. Queen bumblebees are also quite large, and this is a reasonable time to see them... unfortunately, yours isn't ringing any bells (it doesn't match any of the western bumblebees from what I can tell), so I'll have to defer to an expert.
… Kelsey J.R.P. Byers, 27 September, 2013 - 4:01pm login or register to post comments

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