Bug FAQAshton's Cuckoo Bumble Bee
Bombus ashtoni · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Ashton’s cuckoo bumble bee lives inside the nests of related bumblebees such as Bombus affinis, B. terricola and B. fervidus, tricking the hosts into feeding it. It relies on the host colony for food and development, rather than gathering its own resources.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits the nests of closely related bumblebee species, using those colonies as its home.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It obtains food from the host bumblebees that raise it inside their nests.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Its life cycle involves entering a host nest, where the host workers feed and care for its larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
It is active during the same season as its host bumblebees, appearing when the hosts are nesting.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be mistaken for other bumblebees, but it is identified by its parasitic behavior inside other bee nests.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Alaska, North Dakota.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How does Ashton’s cuckoo bumble bee get its food?
It relies on the host bumblebees to provide food while it lives in their nest.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does this bee live?
It lives inside the nests of related bumblebee species such as B. affinis, B. terricola and B. fervidus.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see this bee?
It appears during the same time of year that its host bumblebees are nesting.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell it apart from other bumblebees?
Its key difference is that it does not build its own nest but lives as a parasite inside other bumblebee colonies.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_ashtoni
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.