Bombus sonorus explained

Bombus sonorus, commonly known as the Sonoran bumble bee, is a species of bumble bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America and western and southwestern North America. Considered uncommon, it is sometimes categorized as a subspecies of Bombus pensylvanicus.^[1]

Description

The thorax of this bumblebee is predominantly yellow and it has a long tongue. It can be confused with the yellow form of Bombus crotchii and with Bombus nevadensis. It likes to collect pollen from Gossypium, Viguiera, Helianthus, Linaria, Chrysothamnus, and Kallstroemia flowers. Bombus sonorus nests "in marshy flats near the coast," usually at the base of plants.^[2] These bumblebees generally nest underground, often in old pocket gopher burrows.^[3]

Subspecies

These two subspecies belong to the species Bombus sonorus:

• Bombus sonorus flavodorsalis Franklin
• Bombus sonorus sonorus Say, 1837

Further reading

• Observations on the Behavior of Male Bombus sonorus (Hymenoptera: Apidae). 1987. Villalobos . Ethel M.. Shelly . Todd E.. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 60. 4. 541–548. 25084943.
• 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. 2019-09-24. 2019-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20190113122412/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/76466#/summary. live.
• Web site: 2019-07-02. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). 2019. Ascher. J.S.. Pickering. J.. 2013-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20130922184225/http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Apoidea. live.

Notes and References

1. Book: Koch . Jonathan . Bumblebees of the Western United States . Strange . James . Williams . Paul . U.S. Forest Service, Pollinator Partnership, Agricultural Research Service . 2012 . 2022-08-08 . 2022-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220605052417/https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/BumbleBeeGuideWestern2012.pdf . live .
2. Book: Hogue, Charles L. . Insects of the Los Angeles Basin . Hogue . James N. . Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County . 2015 . 978-0938644-44-6 . 3rd . Los Angeles . 371 . en-us . 910654655.
3. Thorp, R. W., D. S. Horning, Jr. and L. L. Dunning. 1983. Bumble Bees and Cuckoo Bumble Bees of California. Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 23 - page 29