
	Description
	Common eastern bumble bee, as the name suggests, is the most common bumble bee in North America. The first abdominal segment is yellow, all others are black. The hairs on the top of the head are yellow.

	Size
	Queen: ⅝″ to 13 ⁄16″ Worker: 5 ⁄16″ to ⅝″ Male: ½″ to ⅝″

	Similar Species



	Habitat
	Clearings in forests, roadsides, open areas, suburbs, urban areas.


	Biology
	Season
	March to November

	Behavior
	Females carry large amounts of pollen as a wet mass on the pollen-collecting hairs (scopa) of their hind legs.

	Life Cycle


	Larva Food
	Larvae are fed both nectar for carbohydrates and pollen for protein.

	Adult Food
	Adults feed mostly on nectar but also on some pollen.


	Distribution
			Sources 7, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82.
	10/12/2022

	Occurrence
	Common


	Taxonomy
	Order	Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)
	Suborder	Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)
	Infraorder	Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps)
	Superfamily	Apoidea (bees and apoid wasps)
	Epifamily	Anthophila (bees)
	Family	Apidae (honey bees, bumble bees, and allies)
	Subfamily	Apinae (apine bees)
	Tribe	Bombini
	Genus	Bombus (bumble bees)
	Subgenus	Pyrobombus

	In the not-too-distant past, bumble bees were often placed in the in the subfamily Bombinae, and sometimes in the family Bombidae. Today, both of these terms are considered taxonomically invalid, though they can still be found in use on the Web.

	Synonyms


	Common Names
	common eastern bumble bee

	As its common name suggests, common eastern bumble bee is common. In fact, it is the most common bumble bee in eastern North America.

Minnesota Bumble Bee Identification Guide

The University of MN Bee Lab has a free field identification guide to Minnesota bumble bees. It is indispensable for amateur naturalists or anyone wanting to identify the bumble bee in their photo. Click on the image below to download the guide.


	Visitor Photos

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			This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.


	Alfredo Colon






	Babette Kis

	Bombus impatiens Common Eastern bumblebee Bombus impatiens, male, on Goldenrod sp. flowers at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI photographed on October 6, 2022. The absence of corbicula, or pollen basket, on the hind leg indicates that it is a male.




	Bobbi Johnson




	Luciearl

	Note full pollen basket.



	Bill Reynolds





	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

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	Slideshows


	Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) Andree Reno Sanborn

slideshow


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	Other Videos


	Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Apidae: Bombus impatiens) Exhausted by Wind Carl Barrentine

	About Uploaded on Jun 29, 2009 Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (28 June 2009). "Somethings that fly there be, -- Birds, hours, the bumble-bee: / Of these no elegy." --Emily Dickinson



	Bombus impatiens, Bumble bees maculifrons

	About Uploaded on May 27, 2010 -



	Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Apidae: Bombus impatiens) on Blossom Carl Barrentine

	About Uploaded on Jul 12, 2009 Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (12 July 2009). "Bees are Black, with Gilt Surcingles-- / Buccaneers of Buzz / Ride abroad in ostentation / And subsist on Fuzz." --Emily Dickinson

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Visitor Sightings

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		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location.



Babette Kis 10/6/2022	Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI Bombus impatiens, male, on Goldenrod sp. flowers at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI photographed on October 6, 2022. The absence of corbicula, or pollen basket, on the hind leg indicates that it is a male.



Alfredo Colon 8/17/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Alfredo Colon 8/3/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Alfredo Colon 8/2/2022	Location: Albany, NY



Alfredo Colon 9/25/2019	Location: Woodbury, MN



Luciearl 9/5/2018	Location: Lake Shore, MN Note full pollen basket.



Crystal Boyd 6/10 and 6/11/2013	Location: Uncas Dunes SNA queen



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Belgium Prairie Blaine Wetland Sanctuary Boot Lake SNA Brownsville Bluff SNA Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center Kasota Prairie Lost Valley Prairie SNA P.N. and G.M. Nelson Wildlife Sanctuary Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve Rockville County Park St. Croix Savanna SNA Savage Fen SNA Twin Valley WMA: North Unit