Yellowbanded Bumble Bee
Bombus terricola
Conservation Concern 2
The Yellow-banded Bumble Bee is a widespread species across eastern northern North America, and reaches the northwestern limit of its range in southeastern Yukon. In recent decades, its numbers have declined significantly in southern Canada, probably as a result of a number of cumulative threats, including pathogens from managed bumble bees used in greenhouses, pesticide use associated with agriculture (including neonicotinoids), climate change, and habitat loss within urban and agricultural areas. Little is known of population trends or the species’ status in Yukon, but it seems to be reasonably common in its restricted range.
Description 2
The Yellow-banded Bumble Bee is a medium-sized bumble bee, distinguished by a narrow yellow band behind the head and a broad yellow band on the second and third segments of the abdomen. The tip of the abdomen is white.
Typical Habitat 2
Open, flower-rich areas in the lowlands of southeastern Yukon. Requires nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers throughout the spring and summer.
Potential Threats in Yukon 2
There are few known threats in the wilds of the southeastern Yukon, although parasites and diseases may be limiting factors.
Did You Know? 2
Bumble bees live in small colonies of female workers and a single queen. Late in the summer, reproductive males and females emerge and mate. The fertilized queens disperse and overwinter on their own, and start a new colony the following spring. Bumble bees are close relatives of the introduced Honey Bee. Like that species, they make honey to rear their larvae, but because they don’t maintain their colonies over the winter, they make only small amounts. The Yellow-banded Bumble Bee is the eastern sibling of the Western Bumble Bee, another Special Concern species in Yukon.
Sources and Credits
- (c) roy pilcher, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by roy pilcher
- (c) L.G. Johanson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Animal | Insect |
|---|---|
| Insect | Bumble Bee (Bombus) |
| Color | black, yellow |
