Bombus flavifrons

Description

This is a robust bumblebee; the queen has a body length between 13 and and a wingspan of 27 to, the male is 11 to in length with a wingspan of 25 to, and the workers are 9 to in length and 19 to in wingspan.

The yellow-fronted bumble bee has a dense, untidy fur. The head is yellow with black hairs intermixed on the posterior part, the thorax has a mixed black and yellow colouration, often (always with the queen) with a black, central field. The first two terga (abdominal segments) are yellow, on the females often with a black, central field on terga 1 to 2. Terga 3 and 4 are red, and the tail black, sometimes with yellow fields.

;Subspecies Subspecies include:

• B. f. dimidiatus — with the red fur more or less entirely replaced with black
• B. f. flavifrons

Ecology

The queen emerges from her hibernation at the end of March and often builds a nest in a disused mouse nest. The first workers appear about a month later. The nest declines at the end of August, and all the inhabitants die, except for the new queens, which hibernate in the earth. The bumblebee feeds on several flowering plants, most commonly those in Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Saxifragaceae, and Lamiaceae.

This species is host to the parasitic indiscriminate cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus insularis).

This bee occurs at high altitude and latitude, living in habitat such as tundra, taiga, and mountain forests and meadows.

References

References

1. Hatfield, R.. (2015). "''Bombus flavifrons''".
2. "Bombus flavifrons Cresson, 1863". American Museum of Natural History.
3. (2007). "Species Details ''Bombus flavifrons''". E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum.
4. Koch, J.. (2012). "Bumble Bees of the Western United States". U.S. Forest Service.
5. [http://www.bumblebee.org/NorthAmerica.htm Bumblebee.org] . accessed 3.30.2013