Black-Tailed Bumble Bee

Fascinating facts about the Black-Tailed Bumble Bee

• The red-butt form of the black-tailed bumblebee is found mainly in the higher latitudes of Oregon and further north, extending into the Mountain West. This colour morph is recorded scientifically as Bombus melanopygus melanopygus. It occurs within the species' broad western North American range that stretches from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains and from Alaska down to Baja California.
• The dark-coloured form of the black-tailed bumblebee predominates in California and southern Oregon, where it is identified as Bombus melanopygus edwardsii. This morph displays the second and third abdominal segments in black, contrasting with the red segments of its northern counterpart. Like its red-butt sibling, it inhabits the same extensive western North American distribution, from the Pacific to the Rockies and from Alaska to Baja California.
• Genetic analyses have confirmed the two colour forms belong to a single species, overturning earlier taxonomic splits. The former Bombus edwardsii is now treated as a synonym.
• In San Francisco, this bumblebee remains one of the few species still seen regularly. It can thrive in a variety of habitats, from farms to city gardens and parks. It forages on a wide range of plants such as manzanitas, Ceanothus, goldenbushes, wild buckwheats, lupines, penstemons, rhododendrons, willows, sages and clovers. Nests may be built underground or in above-ground structures, allowing it to persist in urban settings.
• The black-tailed bumblebee is a host for the parasitic zombie fly Apocephalus borealis.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Black-Tailed Bumble Bee

In the warm, sun-drenched meadows, the black-tailed bumble bee dances through the air with an endearing clumsiness, its fuzzy body a blur of motion as it flits from flower to flower in search of nectar. With a distinctive black stripe running along its tail, this industrious insect moves with a purpose, its buzzing a soothing serenade to the vibrant blooms that sustain it. As it navigates the intricate web of its ecosystem, the black-tailed bumble bee is a testament to the beauty and resilience of nature's most unassuming creatures.

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