Smallest-range
Guides
Bombus cockerelli
Cockerell's Bumble Bee, Cockerell's Bumblebee
Bombus cockerelli is a bumble bee species with the smallest known range of any bumble bee species worldwide, restricted to high-elevation localities in the White Mountains of New Mexico. First described in 1913 from six specimens, it remained unobserved between 1956 and 2011. Fewer than 30 specimens have ever been collected. The species was once considered a potential subspecies, but fresh specimens now allow for genetic analysis to resolve its taxonomic status. Its entire range falls within protected U.S. National Forest and tribal lands.