Bombus eximius Smith 1852
Creators: name: Williams, Paul H.
name: Altanchimeg, Dorjsuren
name: Byvaltsev, Alexandr
name: Jonghe, Roland De
name: Jaffar, Saleem
name: Japoshvili, George
name: Kahono, Sih
name: Liang, Huan
name: Mei, Maurizio
name: Monfared, Alireza
name: Nidup, Tshering
name: Raina, Rifat
name: Ren, Zongxin
name: Thanoosing, Chawatat
name: Zhao, Yanhui
name: Orr, Michael C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apidae
Bombus
Bombus eximius

description: Bombus eximius Smith, 1852
Figs 1, 12, 25–34, 181
Bombus eximius Smith, 1852a: 47.
Bombus latissimus Friese, 1910: 404.
Bombus rufipes var. [subsp.] tonkinensis Friese, 1914: 11.
Bombus latissimus var. [subsp.] detritus Friese, 1916: 109.
Bombus latissimus var. [subsp.] segmentarius Friese, 1916: 109.
Bombus latissimus var. [subsp.] tricoloratus Friese, 1916: 109.
Bombus rufipes var. [subsp.] lutescens Friese, 1918: 517 (non Pérez, 1890: 154 = B. flavidus Eversmann).
Bombus discrepans Pendlebury, 1923: 64.
Bombus geei subsp. nigribasis Cockerell, 1931: 5.
Bombus eximius var. [subsp.] fulvobrunneus Chiu, 1948: 65.
Bombus eximius var. [subsp.] pallidus Chiu, 1948: 66 (non Cresson, 1863: 92 = B. pensylvanicus (DeGeer)).
Bombus rufipes var. tonkininsis – Friese 1918: 527, incorrect subsequent spelling.
Bombus latiszimus – Friese 1931: 304, incorrect subsequent spelling.
Bombus eximius and B. rufipes have a distinctive morphology and previously were placed in a separate subgenus, Rufipedibombus (Skorikov 1923). A close relationship with other species of the subgenus Melanobombus was supported by an analysis of five genes by Cameron et al. (2007) and these subgenera were then synonymised by Williams et al. (2008).
Our PTP analysis (Fig. 10) of coalescents in the COI gene within the rufipes- group supports two species B. eximius and B. rufipes, corroborated by differences in morphology. It supports as conspecific within B. eximius s. lat. the individuals from Taiwan that may have much of the hair of T2–6 orange (taxon latissimus), the individuals from southern China and Southeast Asia that often have T2–3 predominantly black and T4–6 orange, and the individuals from the Himalaya that have T2–4 black and T5–6 either orange or black (taxon eximius s. str.).
Diagnosis
Females (Fig. 1)
Queens very large body length 23–30 mm, workers 13–20 mm. Can be distinguished by their combination of wings yellow with the veins orange (cf. B. rufipes), the hair and integument of mid and hind tibiae and of all barsitarsi orange (cf. some B. rufipes). The labral lamella has the anterior edge broad and nearly straight (cf. B. (Pyrobombus) flavescens Smith, 1852, B. (Alpigenobombus) genalis Friese, 1918).
Males
Body length 16–19 mm. Can be distinguished by their combination of wings yellow with the veins orange (cf. B. rufipes), similarly coloured to the worker but with the hair of the face black intermixed with grey (cf. B. rufipes) and the thoracic dorsum black or sometimes intermixed with grey (cf. B. festivus). Genitalia (Fig. 181) with the gonostylus reduced to a transverse ‘S’-shaped band (cf. non- rufipes -group), the proximal inner projection not broadened distally and simple (cf. B. rufipes); volsella projecting beyond the gonostylus by ca 6 × its breadth at its midpoint (cf. B. rufipes), and without an obvious inner distal process or hook (cf. non- rufipes -group); penis valve head with the outer flange greatly expanded as a triangular projection (cf. non- rufipes -group); eye unenlarged relative to female eye.
Material examined
Holotype
BANGLADESH • ♀ (queen), holotype of Bombus eximius Smith, 1852 by monotypy (Williams et al. 2009); “ Silhet ” [= Sylhet]; NHMUK (examined PW).
Material sequenced (7 specimens)
THAILAND • 1 ♀ (worker); Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon; 18.553º N, 98.48º E; 2 Feb. 2007; Y. Areeluck leg.; BOLD seq: 3773E10; PCYU: ML180 • 1 ♀ (worker); same collection data as for preceding; 16 Feb. 2007; Y. Areeluck leg.; BOLD seq: 3773E11; PCYU: ML195 • 1 ♀ (worker); Chaiyaphum, Tat Tone NP; 15.988º N, 102.041º E; 12 Oct. 2006; Y. Areeluck leg.; BOLD seq: 3261H06; PCYU: ML196.
CHINA • 1 ♀ (queen); Guangdong; 22.2933º N, 111.2061º E; 16 Jan. 2013; BOLD seq: 1555A07; PW: ML178 • 1 ♀ (worker); Chongqing; 30.13º N, 108.1018º E; Aug. 2010; BOLD seq: 1555A08; PW: ML179.
TAIWAN • 1 ♀ (queen); Taichung, Dashuishan road; 24.2561º N, 121.0108º E; 18 Jun. 2004; C. Dietrich leg.; BOLD seq: 1555A06; PW: ML177.
BURMA • 1 ♀ (worker); Chin, Natmataung; 21.2198º N, 93.9401º E; 2 Jun. 2010; D. Zimmermann leg.; BOLD seq: 6880E04; NHMW: ML502.
Global distribution
(Himalayan, south Chinese and southeast Asian mountain species including some of the northern islands) East Asia: CHINA: Xizang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan. – Himalaya: INDIA: Sikkim, Darjiling Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya; NEPAL, BHUTAN. – Southeast Asia: BANGLADESH, BURMA, THAILAND, VIETNAM. (IAR, IOZ, KIZ, NHMUK, NHMW, NME, PCYU, PW, RMNH, SEHU, SMNS, USNM, ZMHB, ZMUM.) The species is widely distributed but not common in collections.
Behaviour
Expected to be food-plant generalists (Kjellsson et al. 1985).
description: Published as part of Williams, Paul H., Altanchimeg, Dorjsuren, Byvaltsev, Alexandr, Jonghe, Roland De, Jaffar, Saleem, Japoshvili, George, Kahono, Sih, Liang, Huan, Mei, Maurizio, Monfared, Alireza, Nidup, Tshering, Raina, Rifat, Ren, Zongxin, Thanoosing, Chawatat, Zhao, Yanhui & Orr, Michael C., 2020, Widespread polytypic species or complexes of local species? Revising bumblebees of the subgenus Melanobombus world-wide (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus), pp. 1-120 in European Journal of Taxonomy 719 on pages 39-47, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.719.1107, http://zenodo.org/record/4064324