Bumble Bees of Northwestern Ontario

It is recommended that the user use the card function of the guide and follow through the information in orderly fashion from 1 through to the bottom.

The purposes of this guide are to:

1) Provide users with a simple list for identifying bumble bees in northwestern Ontario (NWO) based on their known colouration patterns; and,
2) Provide the user with advice on how to best photograph a species for proper identification on iNaturalist.

The guide is built and based upon local naturalist knowledge as well as a collection of 2755 specimens (Harris et al. in prep) collected in 2018 that are used to describe the probabilities and likelihoods of encountering the species as well as some of its alternate colour patterns. The most common species is at the top and the least common species is at the bottom. The concise information that is presented will describe to the user the key features to assess to identify a species. Bumble bees are placed in order of prevalence in the area.

For a quick reference that follows the intent of this guide, it is recommended users also consult the Guide to Minnesota Bumble Bees for Males and Females.

Females: https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/bumblebeesofmnkeyfemales_s.pdf
Males: https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/bumblebeesofmnkeymales_s.pdf

For definitive ID, most bumble bees will have to be microscopically identified and for that consult Williams et. al, (2014) Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide. Users should also be aware of the differences in colour patterns between male and female bumble bees. This guide for simplicity sake, will focus on female colour patterns, but in late July and onwards, male bumble bees may begin to present a confusing challenge as a result of inconsistent and overlapping colour patterns.

A useful resource for tips on how to photograph bumble bees from Bumble Bee Watch: https://wildlifepreservation.ca/2016/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Bumble-Bee-Watch-Photography-Guide.pdf

The use of key terms in the descriptions follow these definitions:

Simple - Relatively easy to identify with the proper photograph.
Moderate - Moderately difficult to identify by photograph. Specific photographs required for adequate identification.
Difficult - Hard to identify to species. May only be identifiable by microscopic characteristics or require many different photographs to provide a reasonable level of confidence in identification.

Extinct - no longer on planet
Historical/Extirpated - no longer known in tbd
Very Rare - probably present
Rare - present but few documented locations -
Scarce - difficult to find, locations are scattered
Uncommon - may be missed over multiple days, in small numbers
Fairly Common - usually encountered/small to moderate number of individuals
Common - almost always encountered/moderate to large numbers
Abundant - guaranteed encountered, large numbers

V 1.3 (08-08-2019)
Made prevalence adjustments to: perplexus (increase), vagans (increase), borealis (increase), melanopygus (increase), terricola (increase).gryseocollis (increase)

V 1.2 (02-06-2019)
Added additional information to suckleyi and griseocollis, updated prevalence. Added photograph BMP reference and links to MN Bumble Bee ref. Added cryptarum based on predicted range from BBNA.

V 1.1 (31-05-2019)
added information related to melanopygus

V 1.0 (30-04-2019) less ↑