American Bumble Bee - (Bombus pennsylvanicus)

The iconic yellow and black American Bumble Bee is a classic summertime friend doing more good for plants than harm to people.

Staff Writer (9/6/2017): Similar to Golden Northern Bumblebee (Bombus fervidus) but larger, this Bumble Bee has black coloring just behind the wings. One to 3 stripes of yellow appear on its abdominal segments. They have hairs all over their yellow and black bodies. The back legs have pollen baskets (pouches that are used to hold pollen grains that are collected from flowers). If a bee is having a good day, you will be able to see the full baskets, holding their orange/yellow pollen.

Bumble bees are industrious pollinators. They forage for pollen all over meadows, parks, open fields, gardens and forests. They use the pollen to make honey, which sustains them in colder months. They also drink flower nectar.

They are beneficial insects, helping to pollinate crops, orchards and garden plants. Sadly, its numbers are declining for a variety of reasons. Habitat loss, pesticide use, pollution and mites are reducing the number of bee colonies in the U.S.. Without these small workers, most plants would need to be pollinated by hand. Birds and wind pollination are usually specific to certain plants and cannot be relied on to do the work of a population of bees.

©2005-2017 www.InsectIdentification.org. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Permitted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from www.InsectIdentification.org is strictly prohibited. Material presented throughout this website is for entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for scientific research or medical advice (insect bites, etc...). Please consult licensed, degreed professionals for such information. Email corrections / Comments to InsectIdentification at Gmail dot com.

Details of the:
American Bumble Bee

Category: Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar
Common name: American Bumble Bee
Scientific Name: Bombus pennsylvanicus
Other Names: Bumble Bee

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Apidea

Genus: Bombus

Species: pennsylvanicus

Size (Adult, Length): 10mm to 23mm (0.39in to 0.91in)

Identifying Colors: black; yellow

Additional Descriptors: stinger, fuzzy, hairy, furry, striped, stinging, flying

North American Reach (Though Not Limited To*): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming;Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Quebec; Saskatchewan

* Keep in mind that an insect's reach is not limited by lines on a map and therefore may appear in areas/regions/states beyond those listed above.

BUGFINDER: What Kind of Bug is This...

BUGFINDER allows for a quick search of the Insect Identification database by selecting primary color, secondary color, number of legs and the territory / state in question. If only one color is present on your insect, select it again as its SECONDARY color. Remember that the more details you can offer, the better your chances of finding a match. As a rule of thumb, six legs are typical for most insects whereas spiders generally have eight legs.

Primary Color:

Secondary Color:

Number of Legs:

State / Province:

General Category: