Perplexing Bumble Bee
Bombus perplexus Cresson, 1863
Perplexing Bumble Bee: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/3156
Synonyms
Tags

Map Snapshot

263 Records

GAALWAFRCLMOHOBABCHACEPGAACVCHSMKEQACNTADOWISOWO

Status

In our area, its distribution largely stops at the Fall Line; few are recorded on the coastal plain (S. Droege, pers. comm.).

Description

Note lemon yellow coloration. For some reason this species' coloration tends towards bright yellow while other eastern bumbles are more subdued in their yellowness. It varies with their age (the sun fade bumbles plumage) but a nice lemon yellow usually means this species. Males have 13 rather than 12 antennal segments and the hind legs lack the pollen-carrying corbicula (bare area) on the tibia. (S. Droege, pers. comm.)

Seasonality Snapshot

Resources

View at iNaturalist View at Nature Serve Search Google Images Search MBP Facebook posts
View images at BugGuide
Use of media featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.

Source: Wikipedia

Bombus perplexus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Bombus
Subgenus: Pyrobombus
Species:
B. perplexus
Binomial name
Bombus perplexus
Cresson, 1863

Bombus perplexus is a species of bumblebee known by the common name confusing bumblebee.[1][2] It is native to northern North America, where it occurs across Canada and into the eastern United States.[1]

The queen is 1.7 to 2.1 centimeters long and just under a centimeter wide at the abdomen. It is mostly black with areas of pale hairs. The worker female is 1.2 to 1.4 centimeters long and half a centimeter wide. It is hairier than the queen and has more yellow hairs. The abdomen is black and yellow. The male is the same size as the worker. The mandibles have reddish tips. It has white hairs on the head and legs and yellow and white hairs on the thorax.[3]

This species occurs in the maritime regions of Canada, taiga, tundra, temperate forests, and the Canadian Prairies. It can be found in wetland habitat, wooded areas, and urban gardens. It feeds on many kinds of plants, such as bellflowers, thistles, honeysuckles, penstemons, pickerel weeds, and lindens. It may be a host to Fernald's cuckoo bumblebee (B. fernaldae).[1]

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bombus perplexus.
  1. ^ a b c d Hatfield, R., et al. 2014. Bombus perplexus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 09 March 2016.
  2. ^ NatureServe. 2015. Bombus perplexus. NatureServe Explorer Version 7.1. Accessed 9 March 2016.
  3. ^ Bombus perplexus. Mitchell, T. B. 1962. Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152. In Discoverlife.org.
Stub icon

This bumblebee-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.