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Bombus ternarius Say, 1837
Bombus ternarius var expallidus Cockerell, 1916

Life   Insecta   Hymenoptera   Apoidea   Apidae   Bombus
Subgenus: Pyrobombus

Bombus ternarius, female, face
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Bombus ternarius, female, face

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Bombus ternarius, female, side
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Bombus ternarius, female, side
Bombus ternarius, female, top
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Bombus ternarius, female, top

Bombus ternarius, female, wing
Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department · 9
Bombus ternarius, female, wing
Bombus ternarius, F, Back, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 7
Bombus ternarius, F, Back, MI, Alger County

Bombus ternarius FEM comp
© Copyright Laurence Packer 2014 · 7
Bombus ternarius FEM comp
Bombus ternarius MALE comp
© Copyright Laurence Packer 2014 · 7
Bombus ternarius MALE comp

Bombus ternarius, Tricolored Bumble Bee
© Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2014 · 7
Bombus ternarius, Tricolored Bumble Bee
Bombus ternarius, F, Back, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Back, MI, Alger County

Bombus ternarius, F, Face, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Face, MI, Alger County
Bombus ternarius, F, Side, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Side, MI, Alger County

Bombus ternarius, F, Face, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Face, MI, Alger County
Bombus ternarius, F, Face, NY, Franklin County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Face, NY, Franklin County

Bombus ternarius, F, Side, MI, Alger County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Side, MI, Alger County
Bombus ternarius, F, Side, NY, Franklin County
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Bombus ternarius, F, Side, NY, Franklin County

UGCA195795 01.queen_front.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen front
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UGCA195795 02.queen_front_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen front top
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UGCA195795 03.queen_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen top
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UGCA195795 04.queen_wings.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen wings
UGCA195795_04

UGCA195795 05.queen_rear.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen rear
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UGCA195795 06.queen_rear_tip.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen rear tip
UGCA195795_06

UGCA195795 07.queen_side.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen side
UGCA195795_07
UGCA195795 08.queen_rear_leg.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
queen rear leg
UGCA195795_08

UGCA195796 01.probably_male_front.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male front
UGCA195796_01
UGCA195796 02.probably_male_front_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male front top
UGCA195796_02

UGCA195796 03.probably_male_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male top
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UGCA195796 04.probably_male_wings.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male wings
UGCA195796_04

UGCA195796 05.probably_male_side.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male side
UGCA195796_05
UGCA195796 06.probably_male_rear.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male rear
UGCA195796_06

UGCA195796 07.probably_male_rear_tip.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male rear tip
UGCA195796_07
UGCA195796 08.probably_male_rear_leg.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably male rear leg
UGCA195796_08

UGCA195797 01.probably_female_front.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female front
UGCA195797_01
UGCA195797 02.probably_female_front_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female front top
UGCA195797_02

UGCA195797 03.probably_female_top.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female top
UGCA195797_03
UGCA195797 04.probably_female_rear.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female rear
UGCA195797_04

UGCA195797 05.probably_female_rear_tip.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female rear tip
UGCA195797_05
UGCA195797 06.probably_female_side.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female side
UGCA195797_06

UGCA195797 07.probably_female_wings.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female wings
UGCA195797_07
UGCA195797 08.probably_female_rear_leg.320.jpg
© Photographer/source
probably female rear leg
UGCA195797_08
Overview
Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.

QUEEN—Length 17-19 mm., breadth of abdomen 8.5-9 mm.; black, legs apically and spurs and tegulae more piceous; wings uniformly and rather deeply infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; pubescence copious and dense but rather short, largely black on head, with a few pale yellowish hairs around antennae and some intermixed pale hairs on vertex medially, otherwise erect and black on vertex, front of face and on cheeks; pubescence yellow and erect on pronotum, anterior margin of scutum, posterior margin of scutellum, tubercles, and mesopleura to bases of legs, black on scutum in large part, and on scutellum medially, propodeal area with more less intermixed light and dark hairs; pubescence pale on basal segments of legs, elongate and largely black on femora, with only few pale hairs at base, short on tibiae and tarsi, the corbicular fringe of quite elongate, blackish hairs, and hind basitarsus thinly covered with pale pruinose hairs which do not obscure the surface; abdominal terga 1 and yellow pubescent, 2 and 3 fulvous, unless faded, 5 and 6 entirely black; clypeus shining, punctures close and rather fine laterally and above, the broad median area with sparse shallow punctures of two different sizes; lab- rum with a basal ridge that is narrowly interrupted medially, this area somewhat excavated, its apical margin broadly rounded, somewhat elevated above the margin on each side, the entire margin fringed apically with rather short yellowish hairs; apex of mandible with two rather deep notches near upper angle, outer surface smooth but rather dull, with some minute and very vague punctures; malar space smooth and shining, without distinct punctures, somewhat shorter than basal width of mandible, about one-fifth length eye; median area of face very finely and closely punctate, punctures becoming somewhat more distinct and more widely separated toward ocelli, space between lateral ocelli and eyes smooth and impunctate or nearly; vertex very finely and densely punctate medially, punctures becoming somewhat more distinct but still close laterally; lateral ocelli sub- equally distant from eyes, margin of vertex and each other; antennal scape somewhat more than half the total length of flagellum, basal segment of flagellum only slightly shorter than 2 and 3 combined, the latter nearly equal; posterior margin of hind basitarsus very slightly curved, base and apex of nearly equal width; tergum 6 smooth and shining, with exceedingly minute, rather sparse punctures, apex rather broadly rounded.

WORKER—Length 8-13 mm., breadth of abdomen 4.5-5.5 mm.; closely resembles queen except in size.

MALE—Length 9.5-13 mm., breadth of abdomen 4.5-5.5 mm.; black, legs and tegulae more piceous, spurs reddish-piceous; wings subhyaline, veins pale testaceous or yellowish to dark brownish; pubescence long and copious, largely yellow on head but with erect and elongate black hairs along margin of eyes, across upper part of face above antennae, just posterior to ocelli, on cheeks above and vertex laterally; posterior two-thirds of scutum and anterior median area of scutellum in part, black pubescent, otherwise thorax with entirely yellow, dense, copious and erect pubescence; pubescence of legs largely pale, quite elongate but with some blackish hairs on mid femora above and on front and mid tibiae posteriorly; abdominal terga 1 and 4 yellow pubescent, 2 and 3 bright fulvous, unless faded, 5-7 black, bordered with yellow laterally; clypeus with fine and close punctures beneath dense pubescence; labrum broadly truncate, shining, with shallow and minute, irregular punctures; mandibles slender, bi-dentate apically, the two teeth nearly equal, outer surface densely yellow pubescent, lower margin fringed with elongate, more or less curled hairs; malar space smooth and shining, with only very obscure, minute punctures at all evident, length about equal to basal width of mandible; median area of face beneath dense pubescence very finely and closely punctate, punctures becoming more distinct and more widely separated toward ocelli, space between lateral ocelli and eyes shining and largely impunctate, but with a few punctures toward the eyes; punctures of vertex fine and densely crowded medially, becoming somewhat more distinct but still very close laterally; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes, margin of vertex and each other; basal segment of flagellum very slightly shorter than segment 8, very slightly longer than segment 2; hind tibiae shining and nearly impunctate on the convex outer surface, fringed with elongate pale hairs; hind basitarsus gradually narrowed toward the base which is considerably narrower than the apex; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as in impatiens (fig. 133).

DISTRIBUTION—Yukon to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia, May to October. This species is rarely observed south of Pennsylvania.

FLOWER RECORDS — Asciepias, Rubus, Solidago and Vaccinium. Brittain and Newton (1933) record ternarius on Chrysanthemum, Cirsium, Daucus, Narcissus, Pinus (?), Pyrus malus, Rhododendron, Taraxacum and Tulipa.


Identification
Extracted from Jonathan Koch, James Strange,Paul Williams.2012. Bumble Bees of the Western United States. A product of the U.S. Forest Service and the Pollinator Partnership with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Tri-colored bumble bee

Status: Common in the eastern U.S. but rare in the western U.S.

Select food plant genera: Trifolium, Tanacetum, Chrysothamnus, Monarda, Achillea, Eriogonum

Tongue Length: Medium

Distribution: Eastern Montana and Black Hills east to New England

Can be confused with B. rufocinctus, B. huntii, and B. bifarius

Thorax and T1 predominantly yellow, with a black band between the wing bases extending posteriorly in the middle of the scutellum, T2-3 orange, T4 yellow, T5 black, face round.

Mid leg basitarsus with the distal posterior corner rounded. Cheek very slightly shorter than broad. Hair of face and top of the head black with patches of yellow, or sometimes with black more extensively intermixed especially for workers, thoracic anterior band usually yellow without black hairs intermixed except in some workers, which have the anterior margin of the black band between the wing bases always sharply defined, scutellum with yellow patches entirely divided by a black posteriorly directed triangle, T2 red, at most with a few black hairs anteriomedially, T4 yellow, T5 black. Hair length short and even.

Extracted from: Laverty T.M., & Harder L.D., (1988). The Bumble Bees of Eastern Canada. Can. Ent. 120: 965-987.

Description. All castes small to medium. Head round to elongate; malar space wider than long in female, about square in male. Tongue short. Colour as in Figure 15. Head of some queens with yellow and black pile intermixed. In a few males, lateral margins of T5-T7 with some yellow hairs.


Names
Scientific source:

Supported by

Hosts · map
FamilyScientific name @ source (records)
Amaryllidaceae  Allium tricoccum @ CUIC_ENT (2)
Anacardiaceae  Rhus @ UCRC_ENT (2)
Apiaceae  Zizia aurea @ AMNH_BEE (2)
Apocynaceae  Asclepias syriaca @ AMNH_BEE (1)
Aquifoliaceae  Ilex verticillata @ AMNH_BEE (1)
Asteraceae  Achillea sp @ BBSL__JPS (1)

Aster laevis @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Aster lateriflorus @ CUIC_ENT (2)

Aster sagittifolius @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Aster @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Callistephus chinensis @ AMNH_BEE (2)

Centaurea cyanus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Centaurea jacea @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Chrysothamnus greenei @ EMEC (1)

Chrysothamnus sp @ BBSL__JPS (2)

Cichorium intybus @ CUIC_ENT (1)

Cirsium undulatum @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Eupatorium maculatum @ CUIC_ENT (45)

Eupatorium perfoliatum @ AMNH_BEE (5)

Eupatorium @ AMNH_BEE (11)

Eurybia macrophylla @ CUIC_ENT (2)

Grindelia squarrosa @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Helianthus annuus @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Helianthus maximiliani @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Helianthus tuberosus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Heliopsis scabra @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Hieracium aurantiacum @ UCRC_ENT (4)

Hieracium piloselloides @ UCRC_ENT (1)

Lactuca pulchella @ AMNH_BEE (2)

Petasites frigidus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Rudbeckia laciniata @ AMNH_BEE (10)

Solidago canadensis @ AMNH_BEE (9); UCRC_ENT (8)

Solidago gigantea @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Solidago lanceolata @ UCRC_ENT (1)

Solidago nemoralis @ UCRC_ENT (1)

Solidago rugosa @ AMNH_BEE (1); UCRC_ENT (1)

Solidago sp @ VTST_ENT (1)

Solidago @ AMNH_BEE (6); CUIC_ENT (124); UCRC_ENT (4); BMEC_ENT (1); EMEC (7)

Sonchus arvensis @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Symphyotrichum ericoides @ AMNH_BEE (2)

Symphyotrichum laeve @ UCRC_ENT (2)

Symphyotrichum lanceolatum @ AMNH_BEE (6)

Tanacetum sp @ BBSL__JPS (3)

Taraxacum officinale @ AMNH_BEE (8)
Balsaminaceae  Impatiens capensis @ AMNH_BEE (4)
Boraginaceae  Echium vulgare @ CUIC_ENT (1)

Hydrophyllum virginianum @ AMNH_BEE (7)
Caprifoliaceae  Symphoricarpos occidentalis @ AMNH_BEE (2)
Clusiaceae  Hypericum perforatum @ UCRC_ENT (4)
Fabaceae  Astragalus flexuosus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Dalea purpurea @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Lathyrus venosus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Lotus corniculatus @ CUIC_ENT (5)

Medicago sativa @ AMNH_BEE (5); CUIC_ENT (2)

Melilotus albus @ EMEC (95)

Melilotus officinalis @ AMNH_BEE (1); CUIC_ENT (2); EMEC (30)

Melilotus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Thermopsis rhombifolia @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Trifolium aureum @ VTST_ENT (1)

Trifolium hybridum @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Trifolium pratense @ AMNH_BEE (4)

Trifolium repens @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Trifolium sp @ BBSL (3)

Trifolium @ AMNH_BEE (1); UCRC_ENT (2)
Lamiaceae  Agastache foeniculum @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Dracocephalum parviflorum @ AMNH_BEE (3)

Mentha spicata @ UCMS_ENT (1)

Monarda fistulosa @ BBSL (2); AMNH_BEE (1)

Nepeta cataria @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Physostegia parviflora @ AMNH_BEE (1)
Linaceae  Linum usitatissimum @ AMNH_BEE (1)
Onagraceae  Epilobium angustifolium @ AMNH_BEE (7)

Oenothera biennis @ AMNH_BEE (1)
Polygonaceae  Eriogonum latifolium @ BBSL__JPS (1); EMEC_JPS__JPS (1)
Rosaceae  Malus domestica @ CUIC_ENT (1)

Malus malus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Prunus americana @ AMNH_BEE (2)

Rosa @ AMNH_BEE (2)

Rubus strigosus @ AMNH_BEE (1)

Rubus @ AMNH_BEE (1); UCRC_ENT (1)

Spiraea latifolia @ CUIC_ENT (2)

Spiraea tomentosa @ LACM_ENTB (81)

Spiraea @ CUIC_ENT (1)
Salicaceae  Salix @ AMNH_BEE (5)
Scrophulariaceae  Scrophularia lanceolata @ AMNH_BEE (3)
Solanaceae  Physalis philadelphica @ AMNH_BEE (3)
Verbenaceae  Verbena hastata @ CUIC_ENT (1)
Violaceae  Viola pubescens @ AMNH_BEE (1)
_  Asteraceae @ I_JSA (1)

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Following served from Hymenoptera Online at Ohio State University
   
Top | See original context

Following served from Hymenoptera Online at Ohio State University
   
Top | See original context

Following served from Hymenoptera Online at Ohio State University
   
Top | See original context

Following served from Hymenoptera Online at Ohio State University
   
Top | See original context

Following served from Hymenoptera Online at Ohio State University
   
Top | See original context

Updated: 2024-03-19 07:52:02 gmt
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