Brown-belted bumble bee

Description

Brown-belted bumble bee is a very common, large, colonial, ground-nesting bumble bee. The thorax and first abdominal segment are yellow. The head and the rest of the abdomen is black.

The female (worker) bee is ⅜″ to 11 ⁄16″ long. The upperside of the thorax is mostly covered with short yellow hairs except for a small, round, black, bare spot in the middle that is more or less fringed with short black hairs. The light colored hairs are often very pale yellow, sometimes almost white.

There are six abdominal segments. The first segment is densely covered with yellow hairs. Segment 2 has a yellow spot in the middle at the leading (anterior) edge that extends less than half way to the trailing (posterior) edge of the segment, and a brown band along the leading edge that swoops below the yellow spot. Segments 3 through 6 are entirely black and densely covered with short black hairs.

The hairs on the head are mostly black including a dense tuft of hairs at the top (vertex). There are two large compound eyes, one on each side of the head; and three small simple eyes (ocelli) in a triangular pattern at the top of the head between the compound eyes. The middle ocellus is larger than the the two lateral ones. The top of the small (lateral) ocelli are on a virtual line (supraorbital line) with the top of the compound eyes. The antennae have 12 segments. The first antenna segment is slightly shorter than than the second and third combined.

The wings and legs are black.

The queen is similar but larger.

The male (drone) is similar but has much larger eyes, 7 abdominal segments, and 13 antennae segments. The hairs on the front and back of the head are yellow. Abdominal segments 3 through 7 are black but with evident yellow hairs at the margins.

Size

Queen: 13 ⁄16″ to ⅞″

Male: ⅝″ to ¾″

Worker: ⅜″ to 11 ⁄16″

Similar Species

Two-spotted bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus) yellow spot on abdominal segment 2 extends nearly to the posterior edge of the segment. It may be indented in the middle appearing as two connected spots or a rounded “W”. The hairs on the back of the head of the female are yellow. The eyes on the male are not larger.

Habitat

Many kinds of areas with flowers, including prairies, meadows, agricultural fields, and urban gardens.

Ecology

Season

Late March to early October

Behavior

Bumble bees will sting to protect themselves or their nest. The stinger is not barbed and the bee can sting multiple times.

Life Cycle

Overwintering queens emerge from hibernation in late April. They build nests mostly underground but sometimes on the surface of the ground. The nests are usually small, with 50 or fewer individuals.

Larva Food/Hosts

Larvae are fed both nectar for carbohydrates and pollen for protein.

Adult Food

Adults feed mostly on nectar but also on some pollen.