Bombus lucorum (Linnaeus, 1761)
  Apoidea   Apidae   Bombus
Subgenus: Bombus

Bombus lucorum FEM mm x ZS PMax
© Copyright Laurence Packer 2014 · 7
Bombus lucorum FEM mm x ZS PMax

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Bombus lucorum MALE mm x ZS PMax
© Copyright Laurence Packer 2014 · 7
Bombus lucorum MALE mm x ZS PMax
Bombus lucorum, White-tailed Bumble Bee
© Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2014 · 5
Bombus lucorum, White-tailed Bumble Bee

Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum
Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum

Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum
Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum

Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum
Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum

Bombus lucorum
© Copyright Malcolm Storey 2011-2118 · 3
Bombus lucorum

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IDnature guide Identification Extracted from A MONOGRAPH OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE BUMBLEBEES (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE; BOMBINAE) by Millrion, H. (1971).

Female
Thoracic dorsum anterior to tegulae, abdominal T2 (sometimes encroaching on Tl, present irregularly on T3) citron yellow; T4 (distally or more), T5, sides of T6 white; scutellum rarely with pale pubescence; remainder black
Thoracic dorsum anterior to tegulae, scutellum rarely, abdominal T2 (sometimes distally on Tl, irregularly on T3), T4 (varying amount), T5, sides of T6 white; remainder black
Male
Thoracic dorsum anterior to tegulae, frequently on scutellar posterior margin especially, abdominal T2 (frequently distally on Tl, sometimes irregularly on T3) pale to drab yellow; T4 (sometimes along postero-lateral margin), T5-7 white
Color as above, except pale or drab yellow entirely replaced by white


Bombus lucorum lucorum

DESCRIPTION. Queen. Length, 18-20 mm; thoracic width, 9-10 mm; abdominal T2 width. 10-11 mm. Head: Frontal outline trapezoidal, slightly wider than high above labrum; ocelli touching supraorbital line, moderate in size, lateral ones about as far apart as each is from a compound eye, together forming a weak arc; vertex smooth and distinctly concave posteriad of ocelli, ocular half of ocellocular space with stronger and more widely separated punctures mesally; clypeus evenly and strongly convex, rather uniformly and strongly punctate, more densely so ventrolateral^; malar space weakly irregularly convex, minutely sculptured, distinctly shorter than distance between (and including) articulations; anterior surfaces of labral tubercles well-defined triangulate, densely sculptured, depression between not deep and sharp, ventral surfaces concave and less distinctly sculptured, labral shelf arcuate, rather wide, extended to just within each tubercle; mandible with conspicuous sulcus obliquus, prominent incisura lateralis, its dorsal and median principal carinae of similar width, gradually attenuated distally, latter weakly and evenly arched but not strongly united basally with former; flagellum approxi¬mately If longer than scape, Fl a little less than twice its distal width, distinctly longer than F2 but very little more than F3; mesoscutum sparsely punctate over considerable area behind median stria; triangular area on mid-distal margin of especially abdominal T2 and T3 notice¬ably impunctate; hypopygium without sharp median carina; outer surface of hind tibia weakly granulose to glabrous; metabasitarsite with posterior margin evenly and strongly arcuate, outer surface weakly concave, only slightly alutaceous; body pubescence not compact, of moderate length, rather even, medium coarse, denser over most of thoracic dorsum. Color: Head black; thorax above anteriad of tegulae vivid deep yellow, extending onto upper one-third of pleura, re¬mainder of thorax black; abdominal T2 vivid yellow (sometimes conspicuous small white patches laterally) except few black hairs narrowly along distal margin, T4 on its distal third and all T5 white, remainder of abdomen black; legs black except most of pubescence at tips of basal segments and beyond with ferruginous tinge; wing membrane lightly stained with brown, venation dark.

Worker. Length, 9-15 mm; thoracic width, 6-9 mm; abdominal T2 width, 5-9 mm. Structurally similar to the queen except the flagellum is shorter in relation to scape (only about li times longer) and Fl is somewhat longer in relation to F3. Color of pubescence as in the queen except rather paler yellow, and the lateroapical margins of distal abdominal sterna have pale or whitish hair; wing membrane somewhat less deeply stained.

Male. Length, 13-16 mm; thoracic width, 9-10 mm; abdominal T2 width, 8-9 mm. Head: Frontal outline trapezoidal, distinctly wider than high above labrum; ocelli small, on supraorbital line, situated in near straight line; vertex smooth and concave laterad and post¬eriad of ocelli, ocular half of ocellocular space with rather sparse but distinct punctures; front of head thickly pubescent, clypeus rather densely and evenly punctate; labrum irregularly sculptured, transversely convex except laterocentrally slightly concave; malar space about equal to width between (and including) articulations, weakly convex and rather densely covered with small punctures; flagellum little more than twice scape, Fl less than twice its distal width, distinctly longer than F2 and only slightly shorter than F3; outer surface of hind tibia midlongitudinally convex, weakly and finely granulose; metabasitarsite narrower at base than at apex, its outer surface rather broadly and deeply concave, its posterior margin arcuate proxi-mally, weakly so beyond; last exposed abdominal sternum with deep transverse concavity, its distal margin feebly emarginate medially. Genitalia, seventh and eighth abdominal sterna (PL X). Color: Triangular area on vertex with noticeable admixture of yellow, otherwise head black; thoracic dorsum anteriad of tegulae and upper portion of mesopleura yellow, remainder of thorax black; abdominal Tl black except noticeable admixture of yellowish hairs, T2 all yellow except narrowly black medially along its posterior margin, distal one-third of T4 and all of T5-T7 white, remainder of abdomen above and beneath black except lateral and posterior margins of distal sterna pale or whitish; legs black except hind tibial fringes pale-tipped and tarsal pubescence noticeably ferruginous; wing color similar to that of worker.

Redescribed from hypotypes. Queen, Rampart House, Yukon Territory, 23-V-1951, C.C. Loan; worker, Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, 9-VII-1957, R. Hurley; male, Nabesna Road, Alaska, 7-VIII-56. Hypotypes in the Canadian National Collection, Ottawa.

TYPE. Male in the Linnean Collection, Burlington House, London. I saw this specimen but did not examine it closely. There seems to be some question as to the correct identity, that is, whether it actually represents terrestris or lucorum. How¬ever, until such time as this is resolved I choose to accept it as the type of Apis lucorum Linne.

TYPE LOCALITY. Presumably Sweden. Number of specimens at hand: 606. In flight: from early May to September, the males first making their appearance some time during the second half of July. Distribution: (vertical), from sea level to 4000 ft; (horizontal), Alaska southward to parts of southern British Columbia and Alberta, and eastward through Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories. Floral visitations: Petasites is the only available botanical record for this taxon under the name lucorum in the Western Hemisphere.

VARIATION. Little significant structural variation is evident in this species. Chromatically, however, the following should be noted. Queen and worker: Pat¬tern rather stable except sometimes the yellow is pale or fulvous, or it may be present in varying amounts beyond that described; yellow may appear over all the meso-thoracic pleura; or, yellow may be present on the scutellum in varying amounts, on abdominal Tl, and to a lesser degree on T3. Often the distal abdominal sterna have noticeably pale or whitish pubescence, especially laterally along their apices or at their sides; also, T6 may have white pubescence at its sides. This condition repre¬sents the atypical paler individuals. Freakish variants, especially with respect to the abdominal pattern also are rather common. Male: Much more tendency to vary in the same direction is apparent, so that often specimens have some intermixture of yellow on the face, and all the thoracic pleura may be yellow except usually beneath the wing bases or on the metapleura; much yellow may occur on the scutellum; all of abdominal Tl may be yellow, but rarely is there any admixture of this color on T3.

I have observed in Eastern Hemisphere material this same kind and degree of variations as described above for specimens from the Western Hemisphere.


COMMENTS. This widely distributed species continues into Siberia and ap¬pears to be locally common at many places across the northern part of Eurasia to the British Isles, and also occurs at higher elevations in south-central Europe and in parts of the Middle East. Abroad, numerous names have been applied to its various component populations, some of which apparently do represent good subspecies. Our form in the Western Hemisphere does not differ in any significant respect from that which occurs across northern Eurasia to Sweden and England.
Lighter specimens of lucorum bear a close superficial resemblance to terricola (subspecies occidentalis Greene) which appears to have evolved from it. In areas where these two are allopatric there does not, however, appear to be hybridization; at least, this phenomenon has not been detected among the material studied.The subspecies is boreal, and nearly circumpolar, being absent in all Canadian arctic islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It does not occur in northern Canada east of Hudson Bay.



Bombus lucorum patagiatus

DESCRIPTION. Queen, Worker. Structurally like that of nominate subspecies. Thoracic dorsum anterad of tegulae, upper portion of pleurae and abdominal T2 pale yellowish-white to white, concolorous with T4 distally and all T5 (or nearly so).

Male (no Western Hemisphere specimens seen). Very much like the male of the nominate subspecies, except pubescence for that described as yellow is white or whitish, for this subspecies. Original description, B[ombus] patagiatus NyL, 1848, p. 234, no. 16, Adnot., verbatim.— in lieu of sufficient material at hand to adequately describe this taxon.

"Hirsuities albida vel albo-flavescens, verticis, fasciae latissimae thoracia (in metapleuria descendentis ibique angustioris) et segmenti tertii abdominis atra, pedum nigra vel in femoribus saltern basi albida, corbicularum ciliis fuscis vel obscure fulvescentibus; os descendens, longitudo corporis fere 20 millim., $, E. Sibiria, D. Sahlberg.

Ab[.] affinibus mox distinguitur colore hirsutiei collaris et scutelli alba vel albida et ore protracto. Ala ant. fere 16 millim. longa. Hirsuties saltern segmenti secundi abdominis flavescens vel etiam analis. Pilositas corporis infra alba vel albida".


TYPE. Not examined. Either $ or 5, Nylander (1848, Adnot., p. 234), probably in the collection of the Zoological Museum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, though I did not find it because of lost identity.

TYPE LOCALITY. E[astern] Siberia; for Bombus albocinctus Sm., Kamchatka [Peninsula, USSR]. Specimens seen: several from northeastern Siberia, Kamchatka Peninsula, and western Aleutian Islands. In flight: no exact data are avail¬able. Distribution: northeastern Siberia, and peninsular areas to Alaska Peninsula (Aleutian Range). Floral visitations: no definite records are available.

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