Bombus flavidus

Eversmann, 1852

Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumblebee

Species Guides

Bombus flavidus is a widespread Holarctic cuckoo and one of the most broadly distributed bumble bee globally. As a social , it invades colonies of other bumble bee species rather than building its own nests. Recent taxonomic research has clarified its status, synonymizing the former North American Bombus fernaldae with B. flavidus while recognizing an eastern North American , B. flavidus appalachiensis.

Bombus flavidus appalachiensis by (c) Ben Armstrong, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ben Armstrong. Used under a CC-BY license.

Bombus flavidus04 by Jan Ove Gjershaug, Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

Bombus flavidus03 by Arnstein Staverløkk, Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Bombus flavidus: /ˈbɒm.bəs ˈflɑː.vɪ.dəs/

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Images

Distribution

Widespread Holarctic distribution spanning Europe and northern Asia, with in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland. In North America, occurs from the Appalachians to eastern regions of the United States and far southeastern Canada.

Behavior

Social : invades colonies of other to reproduce, rather than establishing independent colonies.

Similar Taxa

Bombus fernaldaeFormerly treated as a separate Nearctic , now synonymized with B. flavidus based on integrative taxonomic evidence
Bombus flavidus appalachiensisEastern North American distinguished by genetic and geographic differentiation, but not by color pattern which remains polymorphic across the range