White-shouldered bumble bee
Bombus appositus
The white-shouldered bumble bee is a fuzzy bumblebee from the mountains and meadows of western North America. It buzzes from flower to flower all summer. One tall blue mountain flower needs it very much.
Lives in
Western Canada and the western United States, in meadows and on slopes
What does it eat?
It drinks nectar and collects pollen from many flowers, such as thistles, clovers and gentians. Its favourite is a tall blue flower called subalpine larkspur.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
White-shouldered bumble bee about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is one of the most important pollinators of subalpine larkspur, carrying its pollen from flower to flower.
2
It builds its nest under the ground or right on the ground.
3
A cuckoo bumblebee sneaks into its nest and lets the white-shouldered bumble bees raise its young.
you asked
Most asked questions about White-shouldered bumble bee
?What does the white-shouldered bumble bee eat?
Nectar and pollen from many flowers, especially subalpine larkspur.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Bombus appositus
- Group
- Bees and bumblebees
- Family
- Apidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- White-shouldered bumblebee
Where the facts come from
- Bombus appositus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by JerryFriedman. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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