List of bumblebee species

The list presented here is a list of global bumblebee ^[1] species (Tribe Bombini) based on the Bombus phylogeny presented by Cameron et al (2007) ^[2] and grouped by subgenus following the revision of Williams et al (2008). ^[3] The bumblebee fossil record extends back to the Late Eocene in North America and England with the most diversity of fossils found during the Miocene. The fossil species were discussed and revised by Dehon et al (2019). ^[4]

Subgenus Alpigenobombus

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Bombus angustus	Bombus angustus (Hong-Fu Chu, 1949)	Taiwan	1130323 [5]
Bombus breviceps	Bombus breviceps [5] (Frederick Smith, 1852)	East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia	714879 [5]
Bombus genalis	Bombus genalis [5] (Heinrich Friese, 1918)	Himalayas	714913 [5]
Bombus grahami	Bombus grahami [5] (Theodore Frison, 1933)	South Asia, East Asia	714915 [5]
Bombus kashmirensis	Bombus kashmirensis [5] (Heinrich Friese, 1909)	East Asia, South Asia	714936 [5]
Bombus nobilis	Bombus nobilis [5] (Heinrich Friese, 1905)	South Asia, East Asia	714967 [5]
Bombus wurflenii	Bombus wurflenii [5] (Oktawiusz Radoszkowski, 1860)	Europe	715043 [5]

Subgenus Alpinobombus

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Bombus alpinus	Bombus alpinus [5] (Carl Linnaeus, 1758)	Europe	714857 [5]
Bombus balteatus	Bombus balteatus [5] (1832)	North America, Europe	714786 [5]
Bombus hyperboreus	Bombus hyperboreus [5] (Carl Johan Schönherr, 1809)	Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia	714811 [5]
Bombus kirbiellus	Bombus kirbiellus [6]	United States, Canada	1128121 [5]
Bombus kluanensis	Bombus kluanensis (Paul H. Williams & Sydney Graham Cannings, 2016)	North America	1129722
High Arctic Bumble Bee	Bombus natvigi (Owain Richards, 1931)		1129726 [5]
Bombus neoboreus	Bombus neoboreus [5] (Percy Sladen, 1919)	Canada, Alaska	714825 [5]
Bombus polaris	Bombus polaris [5] (John Curtis, 1835)	Arctic	714831 [5]
Bombus pyrrhopygus	Bombus pyrrhopygus	Europe, North Asia	1129727 [5]

Subgenus Bombias

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Black and gold bumblebee	Bombus auricomus [5]	North America	714785 [5]
Bombus confusus	Bombus confusus [5] (Adolf Schenck, 1859)	Europe	714886 [5]
Nevada bumble bee	Bombus nevadensis [5] (1874)	North America	714826 [5]

Subgenus Bombus (sensu stricto)

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Rusty patched bumble bee	Bombus affinis [5] (1863)	North America	714782 [5]
Cryptic bumblebee	Bombus cryptarum (Johan Fabricius, 1775)		1126452 [5]
Franklin's bumblebee	Bombus franklini [5] (Theodore Frison, 1921)		714804 [5]
Short-tongued bumblebee	Bombus hypocrita [5] (Theodosio De Stefani Perez, 1905)		714927 [5]
Bombus ignitus	Bombus ignitus [5] (Frederick Smith, 1869)		714928 [5]
Bombus jacobsoni	Bombus jacobsoni (Alexander Stepanovich Skorikov, 1912)		1126453 [5]
Bombus lantschouensis	Bombus lantschouensis [7] (Oskar Vogt, 1908)		1126454 [5]
Bombus longipennis	Bombus longipennis (Heinrich Friese, 1918)		1126455 [5]
White-tailed bumblebee	Bombus lucorum [5] (Carl Linnaeus, 1761)		714816 [5]
Northern white-tailed bumblebee	Bombus magnus (Oskar Vogt, 1911)		1126456 [5]
Bombus minshanicus	Bombus minshanicus (Hans Bischoff, 1936)		1126457
Western bumble bee	Bombus occidentalis [5] (Edward Lee Greene, 1858) [a]		714827 [5]
Bombus patagiatus	Bombus patagiatus [5] (William Nylander, 1848)		714977 [5]
Bombus sporadicus	Bombus sporadicus [5] (William Nylander, 1848)		715016 [5]
Buff-tailed bumblebee	Bombus terrestris [5] [8] (Carl Linnaeus, 1758)		714842 [5]
Yellow-banded bumble bee	Bombus terricola [5] (William Kirby, 1837) [a]		714843 [5]
Bombus tunicatus	Bombus tunicatus [5] (Frederick Smith, 1852)		715033 [5]

Subgenus Cullumanobombus

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Bombus baeri	Bombus baeri [5]		714868 [5]
Bombus brachycephalus	Bombus brachycephalus [5]		714790 [5]
Scarlet-tailed bumble bee	Bombus coccineus [5] (Heinrich Friese, 1903)		714885 [5]
Crotch's bumble bee	Bombus crotchii [5] (Ezra Cresson, 1878)		714796 [5]
Cullum's bumblebee	Bombus cullumanus [5] (William Kirby, 1802)		714891 [5]
Bombus ecuadorius	Bombus ecuadorius [5] (1890)		714897 [5]
Southern Plains bumblebee	Bombus fraternus [5] [9] (Frederick Smith, 1854)		714805 [5]
Mourning bee	Bombus funebris [5] (1854)		714911 [5]
Brown-belted bumblebee	Bombus griseocollis [5] [9] (Charles De Geer, 1773)		714807 [5]
Bombus handlirschi	Bombus handlirschi [5]		714918 [5]
Bombus haueri	Bombus haueri [5] (Anton Handlirsch, 1888)		714809 [5]
Bombus hortulanus	Bombus hortulanus [5] (1904)		714924 [5]
Bombus macgregori	Bombus macgregori [5] (Juan Manuel Labougle & Ricardo Ayala)		714817 [5]
Bombus melaleucus	Bombus melaleucus [5]		714819 [5]
Morrison bumblebee	Bombus morrisoni [5] (1878)		714823 [5]
Bombus pristinus [4]	Bombus pristinus (Franz Unger, 1867) †
Bombus randeckensis [4]	Bombus randeckensis †
Bombus robustus	Bombus robustus [5] (1854)		714993 [5]
Bombus rohweri	Bombus rohweri [5] (Theodore Frison, 1925)		714994 [5]
Bombus rubicundus	Bombus rubicundus [5]		714996 [5]
Red-belted bumblebee	Bombus rufocinctus [5] (1863)		714833 [5]
Bombus semenoviellus	Bombus semenoviellus [5]		715007 [5]
Bombus trophonius [10]	Bombus trophonius [11] (Jakub Prokop & Manuel Dehon & Denis Michez & Michael Scott Engel, 2017)
Bombus tucumanus	Bombus tucumanus [5]		715032 [5]
Bombus unicus	Bombus unicus [5]		715036 [5]
Bombus vogti	Bombus vogti [5]		715041 [5]

Subgenus Kallobombus

Name	Taxon name	Habitat	ITIS TSN	Image
Broken-belted bumblebee	Bombus soroeensis [5] (Johan Fabricius, 1777)		715015 [5]

Subgenus Megabombus

Bombus consobrinus

• Bombus argillaceus
• Bombus bicoloratus
• Bombus consobrinus
• Bombus czerskii
• Bombus diversus
• Bombus gerstaeckeri
• Bombus hortorum – (small) garden bumblebee
• Bombus irisanensis
• Bombus koreanus
• Bombus longipes
• Bombus melanopoda (extremely rare or possibly extinct)
• Bombus portchinsky
• Bombus religiosus
• Bombus ruderatus – large garden bumblebee
• Bombus saltuarius
• Bombus securus
• Bombus senex
• Bombus supremus
• Bombus sushkini
• Bombus tichenkoi
• Bombus trifasciatus
• Bombus ussurensis

Subgenus Melanobombus

† Bombus cerdanyensis
holotype

Bombus lapidarius

• Bombus alagesianus ^[12]
• † Bombus cerdanyensis - Late Miocene, Bellver de Cerdanya, Spain ^{[13] [4]}
• Bombus erzurumensis ^[14]
• Bombus eurythorax ^[12]
• Bombus eximius
• Bombus festivus
• Bombus formosellus
• Bombus friseanus
• Bombus incertoides ^[12]
• Bombus incertus
• Bombus keriensis
• Bombus ladakhensis
• Bombus lapidarius – red-tailed bumblebee
• Bombus miniatus
• Bombus prshewalskyi ^[12]
• Bombus pyrosoma
• Bombus qilianensis ^[12]
• Bombus richardsiellus
• Bombus rufipes
• Bombus rufofasciatus
• Bombus semenovianus
• Bombus sichelii
• Bombus simillimus
• Bombus tanguticus
• Bombus tibeticus ^[12]

Subgenus Mendacibombus

† Bombus beskonakensis fossil

• Bombus avinoviellus
• † Bombus beskonakensis (Miocene, Bes Konak paleolake, Turkey)
• Bombus convexus
• Bombus handlirschianus
• Bombus himalayanus
• Bombus makarjini
• Bombus margreiteri
• Bombus marussinus
• Bombus mendax
• Bombus superbus
• Bombus turkestanicus
• Bombus waltoni

Subgenus Orientalibombus

• Bombus braccatus
• Bombus funerarius
• Bombus haemorrhoidalis

Subgenus †Paraelectrobombus

Bombus patriciae holotype

• † Bombus patriciae - Late Oligocene/Early Miocene, BesKonak paleolake, Ankara, Turkey ^[4]

Subgenus Psithyrus

Bombus barbutellus

Bombus campestris

Bombus rupestris

• Bombus ashtoni – Ashton cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus barbutellus – Barbut's cuckoo-bee
• Bombus bellardii
• Bombus bohemicus – Gypsy's cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus branickii
• Bombus campestris
• Bombus chinensis
• Bombus citrinus – lemon cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus coreanus
• Bombus cornutus
• Bombus expolitus
• Bombus ferganicus
• Bombus fernaldae – Fernald's cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus flavidus
• Bombus insularis – indiscriminate cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus maxillosus
• Bombus monozonus
• Bombus morawitzianus
• Bombus norvegicus
• Bombus novus
• Bombus perezi
• Bombus quadricolor
• Bombus rupestris
• Bombus skorikovi
• Bombus suckleyi – Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus sylvestris – forest cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus tibetanus
• Bombus turneri
• Bombus variabilis – variable cuckoo bumble bee
• Bombus vestalis – vestal cuckoo bumble bee

Subgenus Pyrobombus

Bombus pratorum (male)

Bombus jonellus

• Bombus abnormis
• Bombus ardens
• Bombus avanus
• Bombus beaticola
• Bombus bifarius – two-form bumble bee
• Bombus bimaculatus – two-spotted bumble bee
• Bombus biroi
• Bombus brodmannicus
• Bombus caliginosus – obscure bumble bee
• Bombus centralis ^[15] – Great Basin bumble bee
• Bombus cingulatus – small tree bumble bee
• Bombus cockerelli – Cockerell's bumble bee
• Bombus ephippiatus
• Bombus flavescens
• Bombus flavifrons ^[15] – yellow-fronted bumble bee
• Bombus frigidus – frigid bumble bee
• Bombus haematurus
• Bombus huntii – Hunt's bumble bee
• Bombus hypnorum – tree bumble bee
• Bombus impatiens – common eastern bumble bee
• Bombus infirmus
• Bombus infrequens
• Bombus johanseni
• Bombus jonellus – small heath bumble bee
• Bombus kotzschi
• Bombus lapponicus
• Bombus lemniscatus
• Bombus lepidus
• Bombus luteipes
• Bombus melanopygus ^[16] – black-tailed bumble bee
• Bombus mirus
• Bombus mixtus – fuzzy-horned bumble bee
• Bombus modestus
• Bombus monticola – bilberry bumble bee
• Bombus oceanicus
• Bombus parthenius
• Bombus perplexus – perplexing bumble bee, confusing bumble bee ^[17]
• Bombus picipes
• Bombus pratorum – early bumble bee
• Bombus pressus
• Bombus pyrenaeus
• Bombus rotundiceps
• Bombus sandersoni – Sanderson bumble bee ^[17]
• Bombus sitkensis – Sitka bumble bee
• Bombus sonani
• Bombus subtypicus
• Bombus sylvicola – forest bumble bee
• Bombus ternarius – tricolored bumble bee, orange-belted bumble bee
• Bombus vagans – half-black bumble bee
• Bombus vancouverensis
• Bombus vandykei – Van Dyke's bumble bee
• Bombus vosnesenskii – yellow-faced bumble bee
• Bombus wilmattae

Subgenus Sibiricobombus

Bombus niveatus

• Bombus asiaticus
• Bombus morawitzi
• Bombus niveatus
• Bombus oberti
• Bombus obtusus
• Bombus sibiricus
• Bombus sulfureus

Subgenus Subterraneobombus

Bombus pascuorum

• Bombus amurensis
• Bombus appositus – mountain bumble bee
• Bombus borealis – northern amber bumble bee
• Bombus difficillimus
• Bombus distinguendus
• Bombus fedtschenkoi
• Bombus fragrans
• Bombus melanurus
• Bombus mongolensis
• Bombus personatus
• Bombus subterraneus – short-haired bumble bee

Subgenus Thoracobombus

Bombus schrencki

Bombus sylvarum

Bombus veteranus

• Bombus anachoreta
• Bombus armeniacus – Armenian bumble bee
• Bombus atripes
• Bombus bahiensis
• Bombus bellicosus
• Bombus brasiliensis
• Bombus brevivillus
• Bombus californicus
• Bombus dahlbomii
• Bombus deuteronymus
• Bombus digressus
• Bombus diligens
• Bombus excellens
• Bombus exil
• Bombus fervidus – yellow bumble bee, golden northern bumble bee
• Bombus filchnerae
• Bombus hedini
• Bombus honshuensis
• Bombus humilis – brown-banded carder bee
• Bombus imitator
• Bombus impetuosus
• Bombus inexspectatus
• Bombus laesus
• Bombus medius
• Bombus mesomelas
• Bombus mexicanus
• Bombus mlokosievitzii
• Bombus morio
• Bombus mucidus
• Bombus muscorum – large carder bee or moss carder bee
• Bombus opifex
• Bombus opulentus
• Bombus pascuorum – common carder bee
• Bombus pauloensis ^[18]
• Bombus pensylvanicus – American bumble bee
• Bombus persicus
• Bombus pomorum – apple humble-bee
• Bombus pseudobaicalensis
• Bombus pullatus
• Bombus remotus
• Bombus rubriventris (probably extinct)
• Bombus ruderarius – red-shanked carder bee or red-shanked bumble bee
• Bombus schrencki
• Bombus sonorus – Sonoran bumble bee
• Bombus steindachneri
• Bombus sylvarum – shrill carder bee
• Bombus transversalis
• Bombus tricornis
• Bombus trinominatus
• Bombus velox
• Bombus weisi
• Bombus veteranus
• Bombus zonatus

Bombus vetustus
holotype male

Calyptapis florissantensis
paratype female

Oligobombus cuspidatus
holotype forewing

Subgenus incertae sedis

• † “Bombus” anacolus - Middle Miocene Shanwang Formation, Shandong Province, China ^[4]
• † Bombus? crassipes - Late Miocene Krottensee deposits, Czech Republic ^[4]
• † “Bombus” dilectus - Middle Miocene Shanwang Formation, Shandong Province, China ^[4]
• † “Bombus” luianus - Middle Miocene Shanwang Formation, Shandong Province, China ^[4]
• † Bombus proavus - Middle Miocene, Latah Formation, Washington, USA ^[4]
• † Bombus vetustus - Late Miocene, Botchi Formation, Botchi River, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia ^[4]

Genus †Calyptapis

• † Calyptapis florissantensis - Late Eocene, Florissant Formation, Colorado

Genus †Oligobombus

• † Oligobombus cuspidatus - Late Eocene, Bembridge Marls, Isle of Wight, UK

Notes

1. Bombus occidentalis and Bombus terricola are sometimes considered the same species.

References

1. Williams, P. H. (1998). "An annotated checklist of bumble bees with an analysis of patterns of description (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini)". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Entomology Series. 67: 79–152.
2. Cameron, S. A.; Hines, H. M.; Williams, P. H. (2007). "A comprehensive phylogeny of the bumble bees (Bombus)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 91: 161–188. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00784.x .
3. Williams, P. H.; Cameron, S. A.; Hines, H. M.; Cederberg, B.; Rasmont, P. (2008). "A simplified subgeneric classification of the bumblebees (genus Bombus)" (PDF). Apidologie. 39: 1–29. doi:10.1051/apido:2007052. S2CID   3489618.
4. Dehon, M.; Engel, M.; Gérard, M.; Aytekin, A.; Ghisbain, G.; Williams, P.; Rasmont, P.; Michez, D. (2019). "Morphometric analysis of fossil bumble bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombini) reveals their taxonomic affinities". ZooKeys (891): 71–118. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.891.32056 (inactive 12 July 2025).
5. Integrated Taxonomic Information System, Wikidata   Q82575
6. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019.3, 10 December 2019, Wikidata   Q80825288
7. Oskar Vogt (1908). "B. Bombi (Hummeln)". Zoologische Sammlungen (in German): 100–101. Wikidata   Q110208798.
8. Julie A. Weissmann; Ana Picanço; Paulo A.V. Borges; Hanno Schaefer (3 January 2017). "Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera)". ZooKeys . 642 (642): 63–95. doi:10.3897/ZOOKEYS.642.10773. ISSN   1313-2989. PMC   5240530 . PMID   28138299. Wikidata   Q28817007.
9. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (in multiple languages), Wikidata   Q1531570
10. Prokop, J.; Dehon, M.; Michez, D.; Engel, M. S. (2017). "An Early Miocene bumble bee from northern Bohemia (Hymenoptera, Apidae)". ZooKeys (710): 43–63. Bibcode:2017ZooK..710...43P. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.710.14714 . PMC   5674177 . PMID   29118643.
11. Jakub Prokop; Manuel Dehon; Denis Michez; Michael S Engel (19 October 2017). "An Early Miocene bumble bee from northern Bohemia (Hymenoptera, Apidae)". ZooKeys . 710 (710): 43–63. doi:10.3897/ZOOKEYS.710.14714. ISSN   1313-2989. PMC   5674177 . PMID   29118643. Wikidata   Q46265313.
12. Williams, P.; Altanchimeg, D.; Byvaltsev, A.; De Jonghe, R.; Jaffar, S.; Japoshvili, G.; Kahono, S.; Liang, H.; Mei, M.; Monfared, A.; Nidup, T.; Raina, R.; Ren, Z.; Thanoosing, C.; Zhao, Y.; Orr, M. (2020). "Widespread polytypic species or complexes of local species? Revising bumblebees of the subgenus Melanobombus world-wide (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus)". European Journal of Taxonomy (719): 1–120. Bibcode:2020EJTax.719.1107W. doi: 10.5852/ejt.2020.719.1107 . S2CID   224964830.
13. Dehon, M.; Michez, D.; Nel, A.; Engel, M. S.; De Meulemeester, T. (2014). "Wing Shape of Four New Bee Fossils (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) Provides Insights to Bee Evolution". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): 1–16. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j8865D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108865 . PMC   4212905 . PMID   25354170.
14. Pierre Rasmont; A. Murat Aytekin; Osman Kaftanoglu & Didier Flagothier. "Bombus (Melanobombus) erzurumensis (Özbek, 1990)". Université de Mons.
15. Bombus centralis and Bombus flavifrons are sometimes considered the same species.
16. Bombus melanopygus has two color forms, one of which was historically treated as a species: Bombus edwardsii.
17. Miller, Nathan G. (2010). The Bumble Bees of Algonquin Park: A Field Guide. Toronto: Toronto Entomologists' Association. pp.22.
18. Cameron, S. A.; Williams, P. H. (24 July 2002). "Phylogeny of bumble bees in the New World subgenus Fervidobombus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): congruence of molecular and morphological data" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 28 (3): 552–563. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00056-3. PMID   12927138 . Retrieved 5 November 2015.