Bombus perplexus

Last updated

Bombus perplexus
Bombus perplexus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
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]

Related Research Articles

<i>Bombus fraternus</i> Species of bee

Bombus fraternus is an endangered species of bumblebee known commonly as the Southern Plains bumblebee. It is native to the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is most often encountered in the Southeast, in areas with sandy soil. They range from New Jersey to Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico. There has been a bee found in Chihuahua, Mexico It is uncommon today, having faced declines in population; its estimated abundance is less than 15% of historical numbers.

Bombus polaris is a common Arctic bumblebee species. B. polaris is one of two bumblebees that live above the Arctic Circle. The other is its social parasite Bombus hyperboreus. B. polaris is a social bee that can survive at near freezing temperatures. It has developed multiple adaptations to live in such cold temperatures. B. polaris has a thicker coat of hair than most bees, utilizes thermoregulation, and makes insulated nests.

<i>Bombus citrinus</i> Species of bee

Bombus citrinus is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the lemon cuckoo bumblebee due to its lemon-yellow color. It is native to eastern North America.

<i>Bombus insularis</i> Species of bee

Bombus insularis is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus Psithyrus, the cuckoo bumblebees. It is native to northern and western North America, where it occurs throughout Canada, Alaska, the northern United States, and some western states. It is known commonly as the indiscriminate cuckoo bumblebee.

<i>Bombus jonellus</i> Species of bee

The heath humble-bee or small heath bumblebee, Bombus jonellus, is a species of bumblebee, widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, as well as northern North America.

<i>Bombus pensylvanicus</i> Species of bee

Bombus pensylvanicus, the American bumblebee, is a threatened species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico.

Two-spotted bumble bee Species of bee

The two-spotted bumble bee is a species of social bumble bee found in the eastern half of the United States and the adjacent south-eastern part of Canada. In older literature this bee is often referred to as Bremus bimaculatus, Bremus being a synonym for Bombus. The bee's common name comes from the two yellow spots on its abdomen. Unlike many of the other species of bee in the genus Bombus,B. bimaculatus is not on the decline, but instead is very stable. They are abundant pollinators that forage at a variety of plants.

<i>Bombus vosnesenskii</i> Species of bee

Bombus vosnesenskii, the yellow-faced bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to the west coast of North America, where it is distributed from British Columbia to Baja California. It is the most abundant species of bee in this range, and can be found in both urban and agricultural areas. Additionally, B. vosnesenskii is utilized as an important pollinator in commercial agriculture, especially for greenhouse tomatoes. Though the species is not currently experiencing population decline, urbanization has affected its nesting densities, and early emergence of the B. vosnesenskii has been implicated in the increasing lack of bee diversity on the West coast.

<i>Bombus occidentalis</i> Species of bee

Bombus occidentalis, the western bumblebee, is one of around 30 bumblebee species present in the western United States and western Canada. A recent review of all of its close relatives worldwide appears to have confirmed its status as a separate species.

<i>Bombus fervidus</i> Species of bee

Bombus fervidus, the golden northern bumble bee or yellow bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to North America. It has a yellow-colored abdomen and thorax. Its range includes the North American continent, excluding much of the southern United States, Alaska, and the northern parts of Canada. It is common in cities and farmland, with populations concentrated in the Northeastern part of the United States. It is similar in color and range to the American bumblebee. It has complex behavioral traits, which includes a coordinated nest defense to ward off predators. B. fervidus is an important pollinator, so recent population decline is a particular concern.

Franklins bumblebee Species of bee

Franklin's bumblebee is known to be one of the most narrowly distributed bumblebee species, making it a critically endangered bee of the western United States. It is known only from a 190-by-70-mile area in southern Oregon and northern California, between the Coast and Sierra-Cascade mountain ranges. It was last seen in 2006. Franklin's bumblebee is known to collect nectar and pollen from several wildflowers, such as lupine, California poppy, and horsemint, which causes it to be classified as a generalist forager.

<i>Bombus affinis</i> Species of bee

Bombus affinis, commonly known as the rusty patched bumble bee, is a species of bumblebee endemic to North America. Its historical range in North America has been throughout the east and upper Midwest of the United States, north to Ontario, Canada, where it is considered a "species at risk", east to Quebec, south to Georgia, and west to the Dakotas. Its numbers have declined in 87% of its historical habitat range. On January 10, 2017, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed B. affinis on the list of endangered species, making the rusty patched bumblebee the first bee to be added to the list in the continental United States.

<i>Bombus terricola</i> Species of bee

Bombus terricola, the yellow-banded bumblebee, is a species of bee in the genus Bombus. It is native to southern Canada and the east and midwest of the United States. It possesses complex behavioral traits, such as the ability to adapt to a queenless nest, choose which flower to visit, and regulate its temperature to fly during cold weather. It was at one time a common species, but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wild flowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries.

<i>Bombus vagans</i> Species of bee

The half-black bumblebee is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in North America, its range extending from Ontario to Nova Scotia and southward to Georgia.

<i>Bombus borealis</i> Species of bee

Bombus borealis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the northern amber bumblebee. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs across Canada and Alaska and the northern and eastern contiguous United States.

<i>Bombus crotchii</i> Species of bee

Bombus crotchii, commonly called Crotch's bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee named after the entomologist George Robert Crotch. It is classified as endangered due to the impacts of pesticides, climate change, and human development.

<i>Bombus griseocollis</i> Species of bee

Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee. It is native to much of the United States except for the Southwest, and to the southernmost regions of several of the provinces of Canada.

Bombus macgregori is a species of bumblebee native to Mexico and Guatemala.

<i>Bombus rufocinctus</i> Species of bumblebee

Bombus rufocinctus is a species of bumblebee known by the common name red-belted bumblebee. It is native to North America where it has a wide distribution across Canada and the western, midwestern, and northeastern United States. It may occur in Mexico.

<i>Bombus sandersoni</i> Species of bee

Bombus sandersoni is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the Sanderson bumblebee. It is native to North America, where it occurs across Canada and in the eastern United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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.