Mountain Bumble Bee
Bombus ephippiatus
16.7131, -92.6126
Field Notes
Description:
This species is a Pine-Oak Mountain Bumble Bee, found from central Mexico through Central America. It is a large Bumble Bee, just over 2 cm with very long hair. The top of the thorax is all black, no stripes. There are bright yellow patches on the sides of the thorax and the upper abdomen. This species is very beautiful, with golden orange hair along the sides of the yellow on the abdomen and dark wings. New queens often come into the house in the fall to hibernate.
Habitat:
This one was in decline on the ground at night and may have been too cold. I brought her into the house but she didn't survive.
Notes:
Like all Bumble Bees, this is an important pollinator of mountain flowers, trees and shrubs, as well as cultivated plants.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/FIGURA-5-Bombus-ephippiatus-abejorr…
http://www.pollinationecology.org/index.php?journal=jpe&page=article&op…
https://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apoidea/Apidae/B…
https://www.naturalista.mx/taxa/309377-Bombus-ephippiatus
http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=160050
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_ephippiatus
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B._ephippiatus_foraging.jpg
http://www.bumblebee.org/lifecycle.htm
https://www.buzzaboutbees.net/bee-life-cycle.html
https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/hymenoptera/bumble-bee/
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