Bombus centralis

Description

Bombus centralis is a small bumblebee with a long face and proboscis and light brown wings. The queen has a body length between 12.5 and and a wing span of 29 to; the males have a length of 10 to and a wing span of 22 to, while the workers are 9.5 to in length with a wing span of 23 to. The colouration of the thorax and anterior part of the abdomen is yellow, while terga (abdominal segments) 3 and 4 (for the females) and 3 to 5 (males) are orange-red. The tail is black; overall the hair is long. Across the thorax is a black, medially located band.

Distribution

The species is distributed from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.

Ecology

The bumblebee lives in prairies or river valleys. The hibernating queens appear in late May and start building a nest, often in disused rodent nests. About a month later, the first workers emerge. The nest declines in September, and all the bees, except the new queens, die. The bees forage on various plant taxa, such as wild onions, rabbitbrush, thistles, goldenbushes, coyote mints, penstemons, and phacelias.

References

References

1. Hatfield, R.. (2014). "''Bombus centralis''".
2. Koch, J.. (2012). "Bumble Bees of the Western United States". U.S. Forest Service.
3. "North American bumblebees". Bumblebee.org.
4. Van Haga, A.. (2007). "Species Details ''Bombus centralis''". E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum.