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Bombus terricola Kirby, 1837 Terrestribombus terricola (Kirby, 1837); Bremus (Terrestribombus) terricola (Kirby, 1837)
Life
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apoidea
Apidae
Bombus
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IDnature guides | |||||
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Williams, Paul H., Robbin W. Thorp, Leif L. Richardson, and Sheila R. Colla. Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpzr9.
Known as the Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee.
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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 9-10 mm.; black, apical tarsal segments somewhat more piceous, spurs reddish-piceous, tegulae black; wings uniformly and rather deeply infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; pubescence rather short, entirely black on head, yellow on pronotum, tubercles, adjacent area of pleura above, anterior margin of scutum, and abdominal terga 2 and 3, otherwise black including that on legs and on base of abdomen; scutellum yellow or black, with varying degrees of intermixture; corbicular fringe of elongate, usually black hairs; hind basitarsi with very fine, appressed, pale pruinose hairs; clypeus finely and rather densely punctate laterally and above, the broad median area shining and more minutely and rather closely punctate; labrum rather broadly subtruncate, with a basal elevated ridge which is slightly interrupted medially, apical margin of this area broadly rounded, slightly elevated above margin on each side fringed with rather elongate, yellowish hairs; apex of mandible with a rather broad deep, rounded emargination toward the inferior angle, and a pair of distinct notches toward the upper angle, outer face toward base shining and very minutely, irregularly punctate; malar space smooth and shining, only very minutely and obscurely punctate, length slightly less than basal width of mandible, about one-fourth length of eye; punctures very fine and close on face medially, becoming somewhat more distinct but still close toward ocelli, surface laterad of ocelli rather narrowly shining and impunctate, becoming finely but rather distinctly punctate toward eye, vertex very densely and finely punctate medially, punctures becoming somewhat more distinct but still close laterally; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes, margin of vertex and each other; antennal scape approximately half total length of flagellum, basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than segment 3, and 3 slightly longer than 2 which is about as broad as long; posterior margin of hind basitarsus quite broadly out-curved, median breadth slightly more than one-third the length; tergum 6 smooth and shining, with exceedingly minute scattered and rather sparse punctures, apex narrowly rounded. WORKER: Length 9-14 mm., breadth of abdomen 5-7 mm.; resembles queen in general, but pubescence relatively longer. MALE: Length 13-17 mm., breadth of abdomen 6-8 mm.; black, apical tarsal segments somewhat more piceous, spurs brownish, tegulae piceous to black; wings lightly infuscated or subhyaline, veins brownish to piceous; pubescence copious and elongate in general, large. 1y pale yellowish on clypeus, but with intermixed black hairs laterally, and chiefly black around antennae, vertex with pale yellowish hairs medially, more or less intermixed with black, especially laterally, cheeks with blackish pubescence above becoming somewhat paler below; pubescence pale yellowish on pronotum, tubercles, anterior margin of scutum, pleura in large part, and usually scutellum, fuscous on propodeum and black over posterior two-thirds of scutum; abdominal terga 2 and $ with bright yellow pubescence, 1 and 5-6 largely black, sometimes with some pale hairs on 6 and 7 laterally and apically; basal segments of legs, including femora, with elongate, generally pale pubescence, dark on tibiae, with posterior fringes of rather elongate hairs which may be pale in part, hind tibiae fringed with elongate, intermixed, light and dark hairs; hind basitarsi nearly bare above, densely clothed beneath with very short, brownish-ochraceous hairs; clypeus very finely and closely but quite distinctly punctate beneath dense pubescence; labrum quite smooth and shining, with only very minute and vague punctures medially, broadly subtruncate apically; mandibles slender, distinctly bidentate apically, densely ochraceous pubescent on out. or lace, lower margin fringed with long, ochraceous or yellowish hairs; malar space shining, punctures very vague and minute, length about equal to basal width of mandible, about one-fifth length of eye; median area of face very finely and closely punctate, the punctures becoming somewhat more distinct and more widely separated toward ocelli, surface laterad of ocelli shining and impunctate, punctures very fine and closely crowded on vertex medially, becoming somewhat more distinct laterally; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes, margin of vertex and each other; basal segment of flagellum subequal to segment 3, segment 2 somewhat shorter, about as broad as long; outer surface of hind tibiae rather flat, quite broad and entirely impunctate except toward the narrow margins; hind basitarsi gradually narrowed from center to base, which is very slightly broader than apex; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as shown (fig. 133). DISTRIBUTION: In the East, Nova Scotia to Florida, April to October. FLOWER RECORDS Rhododendron, Rosa, Rubus, Vaccinium and Vicia. Brittain and Newton (1933) also record this species on Lonicera, Phleum, Pinus(?). Pyrus malus and Sails,. This species can be easily confused with pensylvanicus, but in that species the malar space is somewhat longer, the scutellum in the queen and workers is always black pubescent, and the basal abdominal tergum is yellow at least in part. In males the abdominal terga 1-5 are yellow pubescent, contrasting with the limitation of yellow to terga 2 and 3 in terricola. | |||||
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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.
Yellow-banded bumble bee Status: Rare, declining since the mid 1990s. Select food plant genera: Vaccinium, Salix, Rosa, Rubus, Lonicera, Solidago, Aster Tongue Length: Short Distribution: Eastern Montana and the Black Hills east to New England and throughout the Appalachian Mountains Can be confused with B. pensylvanicus and B. occidentalis Thorax with yellow band(s), T1 black, T2-3 yellow, T4 black, T5-6 black or yellow, face round. Mid leg basitarsus with the distal posterior corner rounded. Cheek length slightly shorter than broad, clypeus strongly swollen in the dorsal half, hind basitarsus with the posterior margin strongly and evenly arched. Hair of the head black or with a minority of short pale hairs intermixed. Hair length short and even.
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Identification | |||||
Extracted from A MONOGRAPH OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE BUMBLEBEES (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE; BOMBINAE) by Millrion, H. (1971). Females Thoracic dorsum anterior to tegulae, scutellum (usually at least part), abdominal T2, T3 light to golden yellow; abdominal T4 (distally or more), sides of T6 tawny yellow; remainder of thorax, abdomen black (variable) Thoracic dorsum usually yellow anterior to tegulae, posteriorly with variable black band between wing bases (then some yellow on scutellum) or all either black or predominantly yellow; distal abdominal terga much as in B. lucorum; abdominal Tl usually black, T2, T3 usually all black though often with varying amounts of yellow (variable) Males Abdominal T2, T3 yellow; usually T6 (sides) -7 with tawny yellow, though some times black; no parts of T4-6 with distinct white pubescence; genitalia (PL X)
Bombus terricola terricola.
Male. Length, 14.0 mm; abdomen, 7.0 mm, width across T2, 6.5 mm; width at wing bases, 6.5 mm; front wing length, 14.0 mm, width, 4.5 mm. Head: Frontal outline (excluding mouthparts) rounded trapezoidal, slightly wider than high; compound eye 21 times higher than wide, more broadly rounded below than above, its inner margin weakly concave outwardly, though more strongly so dorsally; vertex nearly flat, mostly with irregular small to medium punctures except inner half of ocellocular area smooth and polished extending somewhat antero-laterally, the ocular half of ocellocular area with few irregularly arranged medium to small punctures; ocelli situated immediately below supraorbital line in nearly transverse position, each slightly closer together than their diameter, interocellar line little longer than ocellocular line; malar space perceptibly shorter than distance between (and including) mandibular articulations, its surface irregularly weakly convex, with few microscopic hairs anteriorly and especially posteriorly; labrum rectangular, about 2i times wider than thick, its anterior margin arcuate at lateral corners, straight medially; flagellum little less than twice as long as scape, F1 nearly equal in length to F3, distinctly longer than F2 which is slightly longer than wide. Legs: Mesobasitarsite subrectangular, about 3 times longer than wide; hind tibial outer surface evenly convex mid-longitudinally, smooth, polished and devoid of hairs except on its basal third; metabasitarsite 3 times longer than wide, subrectangular, its outer surface nearly flat with recumbent microscopic pile, the posterior fringe longest (near widest dimension of segment), progressively lessening to very short rigid hairs distally. Pubescence: Somewhat longer and noticeably looser than that of queen and worker. Genitalia, seventh and eighth abdominal sterna (PL X). Color: Similar to that of female but generally light areas slightly paler, especially on head (which is usually predominantly yellow below antennal bases) and thorax; middle femur posteriorly and hind femoral fringe with noticeable dull burnt sienneous hairs; abdominal Tl-3 similar to that of female; T5-6 distally (and disto-laterally), T7 (mostly) with pale sienneous yellowish hairs intermixed with some black (variable, see Comments).
TYPE. Not examined. The type of Kirby cannot be located and is presumed lost; Kirby's colored figure of the $ in Fauna Borealis-Americana (pi. 6, fig. 4) will serve in lieu of the type specimen.
TYPE LOCALITY. Canada (Northwest Territories?). Number of specimens at hand: 703. In flight: late April to early October, the males on the wing in early July. Distribution: (vertical), sea level to 6800 ft; (horizontal), transcontinental in Canada, and from Maine southward to Tennessee (and likely western Georgia), thence northwestward to Montana. Floral visitations: Achillea, Angelica, Apocy-num, Aster, Caragana, Cichorium, Cirsium, Donicera, Echium, Epilobium, Eupa-torium, Medicago, Melilotus, Rhododendron, Rosa, Rubus, Salix, Solidago, Spiraea, Vaccinium, Verbena, Veronica, and Vicia. Lutz and Cockerell (1920) added the following compiled records: Aesculus, Aralia, Cornus, Gaultheria, Gaylusaccia, lmpatiens, Rhodora, and Viburnum. Leonard et aL (1928) added: Ledum, Oxy-coccus, and Potentilla, and Mitchell (1962) further compiled: Lonicera, Phleum, (Pyrus), Malus, and Pinus with a query (c/. statement under ternarius with respect to coniferous records).
Compared with many other bumblebee taxa, t. terricola is among the more constant in color pattern. Yet, the quantity of material examined from all parts of the distribution clearly reveals a marked chromatic variation, particularly amongst the specimens collected in the southeastern and northwestern areas of its range. In the north central and western regions many specimens of all castes assume a coloration that completely merges with that of t. occidentalis (cf.) by way of what Franklin described as nigroscutatus. While typical far western t. occidentalis averages somewhat larger and would chromatically appear to be specifically distinct from terricola as described by Kirby, there are to me no evident constant or reliable morphological features by which specimens of these two overlapping (allopatric) populations can be positively differentiated in these areas of overlap. In such allopatric locations, obviously the two subspecies (terricola and occidentalis) interbreed and produce numerous perplexing subspecific hybrids.
Bombus terricola occidentalis
Queen. Structurally not perceptibly distinguishable by any significant feature from that of /. terricola. Color: Head black except intermixture of drab brownish yellow on face, especially below antennal bases where such longer hairs tinged with burnt sienna, and on vertex. Thorax above from tegula to tegula and a little lobed ventrally anteriad of each, golden yellow; remainder of thorax black except intermixture of noticeable brownish yellow especially on posterior half of scutellum and less so on lateral portions of interalar area. Legs and wings as in t. terricola. Abdominal Tl, basal third of T4 black with few scattered hairs on T2-3 tipped with brownish yellow, remainder of T4 and 5-6 whitish except some shorter finer pile laterally on T6 with pale golden tinge evident under strong illumination.
Male. Structurally like that of t. terricola. Color: Head black and golden yellow, latter color predominating on face between and below antennal bases and on vertex, black pile above antennal bases with considerable intermixture of tawny yellow. Thorax above mostly ochraceous (yellow) except for poorly defined interalar black band, thoracic pleura black except for ochraceous (yellow) ventral extension anteriad of wing bases and most of remaining pleural pile tinged with burnt sienna. Legs black, most pile on coxae, trochanters, and ventrally on femora with considerable tawny yellow, that posteriorly on middle tibia and hind tibial fringes largely pale burnt sienna. Wings lightly, evenly stained with brown as in worker. Abdominal Tl-3 and narrow basally on 4 black, the remainder of 4-7 whitish. Sterna 6-7 and genitalia as in terricola (PI. X).
Re-described from hypotypes. Queen, Robson, B.C., 20-IV-39, H.R. Foxlee; worker, Friday Harbor, Wash., July 2, 1939, R.W. Dawson; male, same data as worker [all HEM].
TYPE LOCALITY. Washington (State), U.S.A., and (Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada). Number of specimens at hand: 1444. In flight: from late February or early March to ca. mid-November, the males first appearing in early June. Distribution: (vertical), from sea level to 12,500 ft; (horizontal), Alaska (including major Aleutian Islands), and in Canada south and southeastward to British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and in the United States eastward to the Dakotas and southward to Arizona and New Mexico. Floral visitations: Aster, Chamaenerion, Cleome, Epilobium, Gypsophila, Lotus, Medicago, Melilotus, Peta-sites, Potentilla, Rubus, Rudbeckia, Sonchus, Taraxacum, Trifolium and Zinnia. From Lutz and Cockerell (1920) we can add Monarda and Solidago.
As stated in the remarks appended to the description of t. terricola, I have not discovered reliable morphological characters that will justify a specific recognition of occidentalis Grne. Superficially, some far western populations appear to average slightly larger than those of t. terricola, but even this might be statistically questionable. This subspecies shows a broad range of chromatic variability which is, in my opinion, associated with effects by a tolerance for and establishment in many different physical and biological habitats. The subspecies has numerous synonyms, as indicated. Often the queen head is predominantly black, as is usual in the worker. From the typical described above, the most pronounced variation in the female is the amount of yellow on the thoracic dorsum, on abdominal Tl-3, and the complete mergence of whitish pile on T4-6 to the pale or tawny yellow that occurs on typical t. terricola; often a narrow to wide well-defined inter alar black band occurs, and sometimes the thoracic dorsum is almost if not entirely yellow; abdominal T3 frequently entirely, T2 in part (especially laterally) to almost entirely covered with yellow, and on paler specimens some yellowish pile is evident on Tl, and often irregularly on T4 replacing black or whitish pile. These female color variations from the typical t. occidentalis to t. terricola range mostly through the described synonyms proximus Cr. (1863a: 98), perixanthus C. & P. (1899a: 386), and nigroscutatus Fkln. (1912: 271). The male varies in color from that described above to specimens covered predominantly with golden yellow on head, thorax and abdominal Tl-4, with only traces of black on head, between wing bases, on metapleurum and abdominal Tl; legs of such pale specimens are also mostly yellow, the tibial fringes tinged with pale burnt sienna; and, base of abdominal T4 narrowly blackish, remainder and T5-7 pallid yellow to whitish. By gross microscopic examination it is not always possible to positively separate many specimens of t. occidentalis (especially workers and males) with credible accuracy from those of L terricola taken in certain northwestern allopatric locations.
Extracted from: Laverty T.M., & Harder L.D., (1988). The Bumble Bees of Eastern Canada. Can. Ent. 120: 965-987.
Description. Body size of all castes medium. Head broadly rounded, malar space slightly wider than long. Tongue short. Colour pattern usually as in Figure 2a and c. In all castes, some individuals with scutellum yellow and well-defined interalar band (Fig. 2b).
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Natural history | |||||
Host to B. ashtoni from breeding and likely for B. suckleyi and B. insularis.
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