Art and Design

by

Steve Buchanan

Rare in western 

U.S.; visits clover, 

rabbitbrush, 

beebalm.

Uncommon; feeds 

on buckwheat, 

bush poppy, 

snapdragons.

Common; 

seen on clover, 

fireweed, ragwort.

Uncommon;

 feeds on mountain 

 garland, lamb’s ears,

 blue-eyed Mary. Uncommon; feeds

 on lupine, thistle,

 phacelia

Rare, in decline; 

visits sweetclover, 

rabbitbrush, 

thistle.

Common; 

visits thistle, 

onion, 

snowberry

Common; seen on 

blackberry, snowberry, 

fireweed.

Rare; feeds 

on fireweed, 

paintbrush, 

geranium.

 Common; feeds on

 clover, goldenrod,

Very common; mule-ears.

feeds on thistle, 

rabbitbrush, phacelia

 Uncommon, possibly

 in decline; visits vetch,

 penstemon, 

 beebalm

Uncommon; 

feeds on thistle, 

rabbitbrush, sunflower.

Uncommon; feeds

 on goldenrod,

 sunflower, 

rabbitbrush.

Common; 

feeds on 

sweetclover, 

black-eyed 

Susan, 

thistle.

 Very common;

 visits sweetclover, 

 thistle, rabbitbrush.

 Uncommon; 

 feeds on thistle, 

cinquefoil, 

ragwort.

Possibly extinct; feeds 

on lupine, buckwheat,

clover.

Common; visits sunflower, 

clover, thistle.

Common; feeds on 

sunflower, clover, alfalfa.

 Rare; visits 

snowberry, clover, 

 geranium.

 Common; found

 on sweetclover, 

 sunflower, 

currant.

Common; seen on 

geranium, clover, yellow 

toadflax.

Common; seen 

on balsamroot, 

sunflower, 

currant.

Uncommon; visits

 ragwort, sweetclover,

 lupine.

Common; 

feeds on 

fireweed, 

lupine, 

vetch.

 Common; 

 seen on thistle,

 penstemon,

 spiraea Common; visits 

clover, sweetpea, 

fireweed.

Common; 

feeds on 

sweetclover, 

clover, 

thistle.

Rare, in 

decline; 

blueberry, 

goldenrod, 

honeysuckle.

Brown-belted

 bumble bee

 B. griseocollis

 Tri-colored

 bumble bee

B. ternarius

Red-belted

 bumble bee

B. rufocinctus

 Black tail

 bumble bee

B. melanopygus

Western

 bumble bee

 B. occidentalis

 Frigid

bumble bee

B. frigidus

 Hunt

 bumble bee

 B. huntii

 White-shouldered

 bumble bee

 B. appositus

Yellow-banded

 bumble bee

 B. terricola

 Fernald cuckoo

 bumble bee

 B. fernaldae

 Yellow head

bumble bee

 B. flavifrons

 van Dyke

 bumble bee

B. vandykei

 Forest

bumble bee

 B. sylvicola

 California

 bumble bee

 B. californicus Vosnesensky

 bumble bee

 B. vosnesenskii

 Sonoran

 bumble bee

 B. pensylvanicus

 sonorus

 Two form

 bumble bee

 B. bifarius

 Suckley

 cuckoo

 bumble

 bee

 B. suckleyi

Crotch

 bumble bee

 B. crotchii

Morrison

bumble bee

B. morrisoni

Franklin

bumble bee

B. franklini

 Half-black

bumble bee

 B. vagans

 Sitka

 bumble bee

 B. sitkensis

Fuzzy-horned

bumble bee

B. mixtus

 Yellow

bumble bee

 B. fervidus

Indiscriminate

 bumble bee

 B. insularis

 High

 country

 bumble bee

 B. balteatus

 Nevada

bumble bee

 B. nevadensis

Central

 bumble bee

 B. centralis

 Obscure

 bumble bee

 B. caliginosus

Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are vitally important pollinators of wild 

and managed flowering plants. In the contiguous United States 30 species 

of bumble bee are found west of the Rocky Mountains. Compared to 

the 20,000 described species of bees, bumble bees possess relatively long 

tongues. However, within the bumble bee genus, tongue length varies 

across species. The length of a bumble bee’s tongue is indicative of the 

types of flowers they forage on for nectar and pollen. Bumble bees with 

relatively short tongues may be found foraging on flowers with short 

corollas, while bumble bees with long tongues may be found on flowers 

with long corollas. Yet others, like the western bumble bee, are known to 

rob nectar from flowers by biting holes at the base of the corolla, thereby 

bypassing the flower’s reproductive system. 

While bumble bees vary dramatically in body size and color, several colocated species have convergent color banding patterns. These serial mimics 

can make it difficult to identify a bumble bee to species. Thus, learning 

to diagnose facial characteristics like cheek length, as well as ‘hair’ color 

patterns on the head, thorax, and abdomen are necessary.

To assist you in the identification of western bumble bees, please refer to 

our published field guide Bumble Bees of the Western United States, available 

at http://pollinator.org/books/htm and http://www.fs.fed.us/

wildflowers/pollinators/animals/bees.shtml. This guide provides valuable 

information on the geographic distribution and likelihood of detecting 

bumble bees throughout the year. Utilizing the taxonomic key, body 

diagrams, and photographs of bumble bees in the wild will help users 

determine the bumble bee species in their community. Unfortunately, 

some bumble bees are in decline, and one species is thought to be extinct. 

Thus, possessing the ability to identify bumble bees to species in your 

community will help conservation biologists track the status of bumble bee 

communities across the United States. Visit www.pollinator.org for more 

information and to see how you can help.