Bug FAQVariable Cuckoo Bumble Bee
Bombus variabilis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Variable Cuckoo Bumblebee
Bombus variabilis is a critically endangered cuckoo bumblebee with a dark face, yellow hair on the vertex, and dark brown wings. It lives in North America but has not been seen in the United States for at least 20 years, suggesting it may be extirpated or extinct.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The bee has a dark face, yellow hair on the top of its head, and dark brown wings. Its thorax shows black spots or patches; females have black abdomens while males show varied hair colors.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females are parasitic, killing and replacing queens of Bombus pensylvanicus and taking over their nests.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Bombus variabilis is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be told apart from similar bees by the absence of pollen baskets.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 30 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Mississippi, North Carolina.
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 can I recognize Bombus variabilis?
Look for a dark face with yellow hair on the vertex, dark brown wings, and a thorax with black spots or patches; females have black abdomens.
Source: Wikipedia
Is Bombus variabilis still found in the United States?
It has not been seen in the United States for at least 20 years and may be extirpated or extinct there.
Source: Wikipedia
What makes this bee different from other bumblebees?
It lacks pollen baskets, which helps distinguish it from look-alike species.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_variabilis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.