Red-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus rufocinctus

Classification

Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Apinae
Tribe: Bombini
Genus: Bombus
Species: rufocinctus

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Bombus rufocinctus: //ˈbɒm.bəs ru.ˈfoʊ.sɪŋk.təs//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Images

Bombus (Cullumanobombus) rufocinctus by the Smithsonian. Used under a CC0 license.

Summary

Bombus rufocinctus, or the red-belted bumblebee, is a small bumblebee species known for its reddish abdominal band and wide distribution in North America, particularly in open sites like prairies and mountain meadows, where it plays a role as a pollinator for various flowering plants.

Physical Characteristics

Queens are 16-18 mm long; workers are 11-12.5 mm, and males 12-13 mm. Queens are black with scattered gray and yellowish hairs on the head, with many bright yellow hairs and reddish areas on the abdomen. Workers are similar, but may have longer hairs. Males are mostly black with more yellow on the head and abdomen. This species displays genetically controlled color polymorphisms in abdominal hairs: red or black on the second and third terga, and yellow or black on the fourth and fifth.

Identification Tips

Workers can be confused with Bombus bimaculatus and various Pyrobombus, but rufocinctus has a notably short malar space. Females with red hair on metasoma have red on apicolateral corners of T2 and on T3 and T4, with T1 and most of T2 yellow. The facial hairs in queens are often yellow, while they are predominantly black in workers.

Habitat

Typical open sites, especially prairies, mountain meadows, urban parks, and gardens, as well as unusual places like quarries or pine barrens.

Distribution

Native to North America; widely distributed across Canada, and the western, midwestern, and northeastern United States. Some surprising disjunct records from New York and New Jersey. May also occur in Mexico.

Diet

Feeds on various flowering plants including chicories, snakeroots, strawberries, gumweeds, sunflowers, goldenrods, clovers, vetches, and goldeneyes.

Similar Taxa

Misconceptions

Often confused with similar-looking bumblebee species, particularly based on coloration of hair on the abdomen and malar space proportions.