Bumble Bees of Washington State

(Links to appropriate pages are embedded here)

As a general overview, one starts by looking at the individual bumble and asking a series of questions including:

Is it a bumble bee? (see page on Species Identification for tips)

Does the bumble have a corbiculum? (if no, then male or cuckoo)

Does the bumble show a lot of white (shoulder or end of abdomen)?

Is there red on the abdomen?

Is the red in the middle or

Is the red at the hind end ?

if no red, is the bee striped?

Does the bumble have the end of the abdomen black?

Is the bumble primarily yellow in color?