Bombus californicus explained

Bombus californicus, the California bumble bee, is a species of bumble bee in the family Apidae. Bombus californicus is in the subgenus Thoracobombus.^[1] It is found in Central America and the western half of North America.Bombus californicus is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.^[2]

In a 2015 study, Bombus californicus was found to be endangered in 62% of surveyed areas.^[3]

Bombus californicus can exhibit multiple possible color patterns of yellow and black, as in its sister species Bombus fervidus, and in many areas of geographic overlap, at least a small percentage of individuals of the two species cannot be recognized except by genetic analysis, as each species can sometimes display the color pattern typical of the other.^[1] The "typical" color pattern of female californicus is black with only a single strong yellow band anteriorly on the thorax, and another single yellow band near the apex of the abdomen; males exhibit considerably more variation.^[1]

Bombus californicus nests in the ground,^[4] in wooded areas,^[1] and in urban areas.^[5] Queens emerge from April through the middle of July.^[6] Workers are present from April to September.^[6] Males (drones) are present late May through September.^[6] This type of bumblebee pollinates sage,^[7] blueberry bushes, red clover,^[4] California poppies, and many other species of flowers.^[8]

Further reading

• An annotated checklist of bumble bees with an analysis of patterns of description (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini). 1998. Williams . P. H.. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Entomology Series. 67. 1. 79–152. 0968-0454.
• Web site: 2019-07-02. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). 2019. Ascher . J.S.. Pickering . J..

Notes and References

1. Koch . Jonathan B. . Rodriguez . Juanita . Pitts . James P. . Strange . James P. . Phylogeny and population genetic analyses reveals cryptic speciation in the Bombus fervidus species complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae) . PLOS ONE . 21 November 2018 . 13 . 11 . e0207080 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0207080 . 30462683 . 6248958 . 2018PLoSO..1307080K . free .
2. Strange . James P. . Tripodi . Amber D. . Characterizing bumble bee (Bombus) communities in the United States and assessing a conservation monitoring method . Ecology and Evolution . 13 January 2019 . 9 . 3 . 1061–1069 . 10.1002/ece3.4783 . 30805140 . 6374645 .
3. Koch . Jonathan B. . Lozier . Jeffrey . Strange . James P. . Ikerd . Harold . Griswold . Terry . Cordes . Nils . Solter . Leellen . Stewart . Isaac . Cameron . Sydney A. . USBombus, a database of contemporary survey data for North American Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus) distributed in the United States . Biodiversity Data Journal . 30 December 2015 . 3 . 3 . e6833 . 10.3897/BDJ.3.e6833 . 26751762 . 4698456 . free .
4. Rao . Sujaya . Stephen . W. P. . Abundance and Diversity of Native Bumble Bees Associated with Agricultural Crops: The Willamette Valley Experience . Psyche: A Journal of Entomology . 2010 . 2010 . 1–9 . 10.1155/2010/354072 . free .
5. Wray . Julie C. . Elle . Elizabeth . Flowering phenology and nesting resources influence pollinator community composition in a fragmented ecosystem . Landscape Ecology . 26 November 2014 . 30 . 2 . 261–272 . 10.1007/s10980-014-0121-0 . 16394577 .
6. Koch, Jonathan, et al. "Bumble Bees of the Western United States." Bumble Bees of the Western United States, U.S. Forest Service and Pollinator Partnership, 2012.
7. Montalvo . A. M. . Riordan . E. C. . Beyers . Jan . Plant profile for Salvia mellifera, Updated 2017 . Native Plant Recommendations for Southern California Ecoregions . 2017 .
8. Ascher, J., et al. "Bombus Californicus." Bombus californicus - -- Discover Life, The Polistes Corporation.