Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius)

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will already know that I like to take photographs of bees. A couple of days ago I noticed that there were bees on the dandelion flowers (earlier than usual this spring), so of course I had to take some photos. One bee had a bright orange stripe around its body and was unlike any bumble bee I have ever seen before.

It turns out this bee is a tricolored bumble bee, also sometimes called “orange-belted” for obvious reasons. Even though I have never seen a bee with an orange stripe before, it is supposedly a fairly common bumble bee in the northern United States. It is a large bee… males and worker bees can be up to half an inch in length, and the queens are even larger at more than 3/4-inch. They are considered to be superior pollinators because they will collect pollen even in cold or wet weather… and it was cool and damp the day these photographs were taken.

The queen comes out of hibernation in late April or early May and spends hours collecting pollen and looking for a suitable underground nest site. Once a site has been chosen, she secretes wax to make the nest where she lays her eggs, and a “honey pot” for the storage of nectar. The eggs hatch into worm-like larva in three or four days, become pupae, and spend fourteen days developing their adult tissue. After two or three more days they have their adult coloration, their wings have hardened, and they can fly. These are the worker bees, and their only job is to collect nectar and pollen and store it in the nest.

Meanwhile the queen starts to lay more eggs. Until late summer she will lay only unfertilized eggs that will become males. After that she will lay only eggs that will become new queens. Before the end of the season, these new queens must mate and find their own underground hibernation spots where they will remain dormant until the next spring, when the entire cycle starts again.

It’s a short life for the old workers and the males… they and the old queen will all die by mid-autumn.

Written by Shirley | Filed Under Enjoying Nature, Voluntary Simplicity

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Comments

Comment by linda:

those pics are just so beautiful!

Comment by :::::::::::: wife mom maniac :::::::::::::

ah, I see these often in my Canadian West Coast garden, they are friendly bees too, sometimes I pet them!

Comment by Shirley:

Wife Mom Maniac, and I thought I was the only one who did that…!!!

Comment by kate:

Hi Shirley,
I stumbled upon your blog, via this post on bees. I was trying to find out who these funky bees were in our yard, and you had the most lovely photos and just enough information to answer the children’s questions about these giant, orange belted bees!
I was intrigued by your writing style and knowledge, and I ended up (accidentally) spending a couple hours reading through many of your posts. I just wanted to tell you that I really love your blog! Your writing is delightful, your photos are gorgeous and the content is fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with the world! I have added you to my ‘favorites’.
kate

Comment by Shirley:

Kate, thank you so much for taking the time to write and for your very kind comments. I’m glad you are enjoying my blog and that your question about the tricolored bees led you to it. It’s funny, because I had never seen one of those bees here before I wrote that post. Now I’m seeing them all the time. I wonder… is it me… or them?

Comment by dm:

I saw my first tricolored two days ago. A queen, I think. Very exciting.

Comment by Lorraine:

I have just had this huge Bee in my living room, not having ever seen one with such an orange colour before I thought I would try to find out more details, thanks for writing this blog, I would like to add that I live in Cornwall UK.

Comment by M.P.:

Hi Shirley:
Lovely blog! But how did you get those bees to sit still? I just ran out a few minutes ago to take pics of one orange belted fellow and none of my shots compare to yours. He was in a patch of Chionodoxa being very busy. It’s April and the snow is all gone here in Gatineau, Quebec but still very early for this kind of wonderful Good Friday surprise.

Comment by Scott:

HiShirley,
i found your blog as i was looking for some info on the bombus ternarius aka the orange belted bumblebee.I stumbled across it as i was taking out the recycle and seems as if it couldnt fly? i feel so bad for this bee it is beautiful. I live in Calgary Alberta,Canada and have never seen this type of bee beefore do you know why it cant fly? thanks for the help

Scott

Comment by Shirley:

Scott, was it perhaps just too cold? Bees have trouble flying in cold temperatures or in rain. If the bee wasn’t injured or wasn’t dying from natural causes, it might have just been cold. Often on a very cold morning I see bees that are acting sluggish and not flying, but they are fine once the sun comes out and everything warms up.

Comment by annie:

I just wanted to say thanks for your Bee website. I noticed that some Bees had taken over the swallow’s house. I didn’t want to kill them if they were good bees. So my hubby and I went out after dark and moved the nest away from the garden. Your website helped us ID the bumble bees as Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius). These little guys are busy and we are happy to have them.

Comment by Deb:

These guys live under my house and the females are very large. I was able to get some great shots of them myself and the coloring turned out great against the purple chive flowers.

Comment by Marilyn:

I too have pictures of these lovely bees..I had never seen one before and was quite taken aback by their vibrant color. I spotted them in the English Garden in Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Comment by CC:

I started noticing these little guys in my yard in Colorado this year.I have been planting alot of perrenial flowers and they do really appear to be calm. Thank goodness because I love going out in the yard.

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