The two bumbles in Washington that I put into this category are: Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis and White-shouldered bumble bee, Bombus appositus Other bumbles may show white, but those species are also striped, so look for them in that grouping. The Western bumble shows white on T4 and T5. The White-shouldered bumble is a …
Field ID Tips The White-shouldered bumble bee, Bombus appositus, is easily identified in the field by a combination of large size, bright white shoulder, black band between the wings and the entire abdomen a golden yellow. Lisa’s father-in-law described this species as looking like they were wearing white shoulder pads. Sports analogies for the win! …
The Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, was until recently the most widely distributed bumble bee species across Washington state. The range map below shows just how wide spread it was. Then a disease outbreak spread from captive raised bumble bees used for tomato hothouse operations wiped out an estimated 95% or more of the wild …