7

Twenty-one species of bumble bees (Bombus spp.) your garden. The sizes of the bees on the poster are
D occur east of the 100th meridian. Within the genus relative. The size of adult bumble bees is entirely
D Bombus, individuals vary dramatically within a species in dependent upon the amount of food they ate as
ra color pattern, extent and intensity of colors on the head, larvae. Thus, even within the same colony of a species

thorax and abdomen. A representative color pattern is you can find tiny to very large workers, some of
shown for each species. Facial shape is not pictured, but them approaching the size of the colony's queen.
is a key component in accurate identification. Please There are 47 bumble bee species in the entire
refer to the depictions of color pattern and face shape United States and they are among our most important
in our published field guide, Bumble Bees of the Eastern pollinators. These charismatic bees visit flowers with
United States, available at www.pollinator. org/ long corollas and abundant nectar. Bumble bees are
books/htm and at www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ important as commercial pollinators of tomatoes,
pollinators/documents/BumbleBeeGuide. along with certain wildflowers, which they buzz

To complicate matters further, bumble bees often pollinate, turning themselves into living tuning forks
mimic one another in color patterns, so they can be to harvest their pollen grains. At least 6 species in
difficult to distinguish from one another especially the U.S. are in trouble. Visit www.pollinator.org for
on the wing as they go from flower to flower in more information and to see how you can help.

Black and gold Ve
Red-belted bumble be Wy
bumble bee . WI,
Brown-belted B. rufocinctus Bauricomus a . ee

bumble bee Uncommon;

Tri-colored
visits bee balm and

bumble bee

Common; feeds on sweet

fi
Lfe? ble t
B. griseocollis / iff » bumble bee

clover, thistles, asters. nightshades. B. citrinus
Common; visits B. ternarius
milkweeds, thistles, Widespread
sunflowers. Common: found on parasitizes
milkweeds, goldenrods, B. impatiens,
blueberries. B. vagans.

bumble bee
B. frigidus

Rare, northern only;
found on thistles,
dandelion.

Common

eastern
bumble bee

B. impatiens

Two-spotted
bumble bee

B. bimaculatus

Common; found
on thistles and
clovers.

Common; a commercial

pollinator of greenhouse
tomatoes.

Yellow-banded
bumble bee

B. terricola

Uncommon;

__ visits willows,
honeysuckles,

: asters.

Fernald cuckoo

, j ’ bumble bee
@ / bumble bee B. fernaldae
fo rt
| B. pensyloanicus

Indiscriminate Ashton cuckoo Ly - Pensyivanicus bs (Pixssniiory

onckeS bumble bee q Uncommon, possibly parasitizes
Beale bee a in decline; visits vetches, B. perplexus,

B. rufocinctus. \

/A

Rear sf B. ashtoni goldenrods, clovers. * ;
a” Rare, in decline; a
Rare; visits f parasitizes B. affinis, ;
goldenrods, B. terricola.
clovers. 1, Wa
= - Rusty-patched

bumble bee
B. affinis

Rare, in decline;
visits sunflowers,

goldenrods.

Yj

Confusing
bumble bee

B. perplexus

Common; found on

Sanderson

bumble bee

B. sandersoni

Uncommon; visits bee
_ _ balms, beard

tongues, apples.

Yellow
pa bee Variable cuckoo
B. fervidus bumble bee

Northern amber
bumble bee

B. borealis

Uncommon; possibly
in decline, seen on
honeysuckles,
thistles.

B. variabilis

Half-black
bumble bee

B. vagans

Rare; possibly
extinct. parasitizes
B. pensylvanicus.

Uncommon; visits
vetches, thistles,
Common; seen
on milkweeds,
meadowsweet.

aster, comfrey.

Southern plains 7

bumble bee
B. fraternus

Uncommon: feeds on St.
John’s Wort, bee balm,
nightshades.

FPOLLINATOR oe
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