bumble bees

(Bombus spp.)

Overview

Bombus is a genus of very common, well-known, medium-sized to large hairy bees known as bumble bees. It occurs on every continent on the globe, though in Africa it is restricted to the north and in Australia it occurs only in Tasmania, where it was introduced. There are more than 250 bumble bee species worldwide, 46 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 19 species in Minnesota.

Bumble bees are truly social, having a single reproductive queen and multiple sterile workers. Most nest in the ground in abandoned rodent burrows, in leaf litter, or in wood piles. Queens live only one year. Old queens and workers are killed by cold weather in the fall, while new mated queens hibernate beneath the soil litter.

 
bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Photo by Alfredo Colon
 
Description

Bumble bees have robust, rounded bodies covered with long soft hair. They are black with usually yellow, rarely orange, contrasting markings. The upper surface of the abdomen is hairy. On the forewing the second submarginal cell is somewhat rectangular and about as long as the first. On the hindwing there is no jugal lobe.

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 7/14/2025).

7/14/2025    
     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)

Suborder

Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)

Infraorder

Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps)

Superfamily

Apoidea (bees and apoid wasps)

Epifamily

Anthophila (bees)

Family

Apidae (honey bees, bumble bees, and allies)

Subfamily

Apinae (honey, bumble, longhorn, orchid, and digger bees)

Tribe

Bombini

   

Subfamily
Some authors separate bumble bees and orchid bees into the subfamily Bombinae. NCBI follows this classification. Most authors follow Michener (2007) and include those groups in the subfamily Apinae with the honey bees.

   

Subordinate Taxa

American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)

black-and-gold bumble bee (Bombus auricomus)

brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis)

common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens)

confusing bumble bee (Bombus perplexus)

Fernald's cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus fernaldae)

frigid bumble bee (Bombus frigidus) ?

golden northern bumble bee (Bombus fervidus)

half-black bumble bee (Bombus vagans)

Hunt’s bumble bee (Bombus huntii)

indiscriminate cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus insularis)

lemon cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus citrinus)

Nevada bumble bee (Bombus nevadensis)

northern amber bumble bee (Bombus borealis)

red-belted bumble bee (Bombus rufocinctus)

rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)

Sanderson’s bumble bee (Bombus sandersoni)

tricolored bumble bee (Bombus ternarius)

two-spotted bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus)

yellow-banded bumble bee (Bombus terricola)

   

Synonyms

 

   

Common Names

bumble bees

bumblebees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bumble Bee or Bumblebee?

In common usage the word bumblebee is written at least as often as the as the term bumble bee. In scientific usage, however, there is a “correct” form. The rule is: if the second part of the term accurately reflects the organism’s identity then it should stand alone. If it does not, then it should be concatenated. In short, “If true, then two.”

The Entomological Society of America follows the convention suggested by R. E. Snodgrass, author of Anatomy of the Honey Bee, when assigning common names to insects. Snodgrass states, “If the insect is what the name implies, write the two words separately; otherwise run them together. Thus we have such names as house fly, blow fly and robber fly contrasted with dragonfly, caddisfly and butterfly, because the latter are not flies, just as an dandelion is not a lion and a silverfish is not a fish. The honey bee is an insect and is preeminently a bee; ‘honeybee’ is equivalent to ‘Johnsmith.’”

 

Minnesota Bumble Bee Identification Guide

The University of MN Bee Lab has a free field identification guide to Minnesota bumble bees. It is indispensable for amateur naturalists or anyone wanting to identify the bumble bee in their photo. Click on the image below to download the guide.

Guide to MN Bumble Bees

Visitor Photos
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.

Mike Poeppe

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)

Alfredo Colon

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)   bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
     
bumble bee (Bombus sp.)   bumble bee (Bombus sp.)

Dan W. Andree

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)

2 Bumble Bees on a Thistle Bloom...

2 on the same plant made me smile.

Luciearl

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)

I have a huge area of jewelweed. This bee seems to be especially attracted to it.

MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
   

 

   

 

 

Camera

Slideshows

 

 
 

 

slideshow

Visitor Videos
 

Share your video of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.

 

 

 
 
Other Videos

Bombus sp.
Agnieszka Graclik

About

Jan 19, 2009

probably Bombus terrestris

Bumble Bee (Bombus sp.) pollinating Bog Bottle Gentian
Droseraman

About

Oct 25, 2009

A video I took on my digital camera (hence the modest clarity)- this is a gentian species endemic to bogs of the southeastern United States. The pollination process is interesting- the flowers develop, but the petals remain tightly closed. This means that the bumble bees (Bombus sp.) that pollinate the flowers have to pry the petals apart in order to get in to the flowers, which have copious amounts of pollen for them to eat. In the process they are unknowingly cross-pollinating the flowers, which ensures good seed-set. The flowers open in late Fall, towards the first frost and are probably one of the last sources of food before the Bumble bees settle in for Winter. Enjoy!

Bombus sp. (bumblebee) visiting Impatiens capensis (jewelweed) - with bonus clumsiness
J. C.

About

Sep 20, 2017

Uploaded for discussion over at my blog:

http://canadianecology.blogspot.com/2017/09/impatiens-capensis-pollination-bonus.html

 

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.

Mike Poeppe
7/13/2025

Location: Houston, MN

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Dan W. Andree
8/31/2022

Location: Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

2 on the same plant made me smile.

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Luciearl
8/26/2022

Location: Lake Shore

I have a huge area of jewelweed. This bee seems to be especially attracted to it.

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Alfredo Colon
8/25/2022

Location: Albany, NY

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Alfredo Colon
5/30 to 6/1/2021

Location: Woodbury, MN

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
Alfredo Colon
8/12/2019

Location: Woodbury, MN

bumble bee (Bombus sp.)
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

 

 

 

Binoculars

 

Created: 4/6/2020

Last Updated:

© MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.

About Us

Privacy Policy

Contact Us