''Bombus cockerelli'', Cockerell's bumblebee, is a yellow and black

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

known only from fewer than 30 specimens, collected at a few high-altitude (over ) localities in the White Mountains of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, all within an area of less than , giving it the smallest range of any of the ~250 species of bumblebees in the world.Yanega, D. 2013. The status of Cockerell’s Bumblebee, ''Bombus (Pyrobombus) cockerelli'' Franklin, 1913 (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Southwestern Entomologist 38: 517-522Scientists Rediscover Rarest U.S. Bumblebee; UCR Newsroom, December 5, 2011
/ref>

Description

''Bombus cockerelli'' is a typical bumblebee in appearance, with queens long, and distinctly smaller workers. The queens and workers are black on the head, with a few pale yellow hairs. The anterior and posterior

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

and the two basal and two terminal abdominal segments are yellow, while abdominal segments 3 and 4 are black. Males are unknown. Another species of bumblebee, ''

Bombus balteatus ''Bombus balteatus'', the golden-belted bumble bee, is a species of bumblebee with a boreal and high altitude distribution in northern Eurasia and North America. Range and distribution This species is found in Finland, northern Sweden, Russia ...

'', known to occur at high altitudes in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, is similar to ''B. cockerelli'',Bugguide image of ''Bombus balteatus''
/ref> but ''B. cockerelli'' has a shorter head, numerous intermixed black hairs on the anterior thorax, and the abdominal apex is yellow rather than rust-tinted.

History

The bee was first described in 1913, based on six specimens collected near the Rio Ruidoso in New Mexico. Between 1956 and 2011, not even one was seen. For a time, this bee was believed to be just a subspecies and not a full species. However, given access to fresh specimens whose genetic material can be analyzed, it is expected that it will now be possible to determine whether it is a true species.

Conservation status

Despite how rarely it has been seen, the bee is not believed to be endangered or threatened, because its entire range is in U.S. National Forest and tribal lands.

Biology

Nothing is known regarding the biology of this species, other than some specimens having been collected on

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

flowers.

References

Bumblebees Hymenoptera of North America Insects described in 1913 {{bombus-stub