Bombus suckleyi
| Bombus suckleyi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Bombus |
| Subgenus: | (Psithyrus) |
| Species: | B. suckleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Bombus suckleyi Greene, 1860[1] | |
Bombus suckleyi is a species of bumblebee known commonly as Suckley's cuckoo bumblebee.[2] It is native to northwestern North America, including Alaska and parts of western and central Canada and the western United States.[2]
Females feed from several food plants, including asters, rabbitbrush, thistles, and goldenrods.[1] They then invade the colony of another bee and live there to reproduce. This is a species of cuckoo bumblebee, one that parasitizes the nest of another bee rather than building and tending its own. Host species for this cuckoo bee include the western bumblebee (B. occidentalis).[2]
This is a critically endangered species. It has experienced rapid, significant, recent declines, averaging over 77% during the last few decades.[1] Its declines are associated with those of its host species.[1] Other possible reasons for its declines include pesticides, loss of habitat, competition from introduced species of bees, climate change, and the parasite Nosema bombi.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hatfield, R., et al. 2015. Bombus suckleyi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. Downloaded on 11 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 NatureServe. 2015. Bombus suckleyi. NatureServe Explorer Version 7.1. Accessed 10 March 2016.