Bug FAQWestern Bumble Bee
Bombus occidentalis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Western Yellow-banded Bumble Bee
Western bumble bee workers show three main color patterns, with one form having yellow hair on the front of the thorax in the northern California to British Columbia to southwest Saskatchewan and Montana region. Their range stretches from Mediterranean-type California up to the tundra of Alaska, one of the broadest geographic distributions for a bee. Queens emerge in spring, workers follow, and drones appear only in late summer to early fall.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Workers have three main color variations; the northern California-to-British Columbia form has yellow hair on the front thorax.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Workers gather nectar and bring it back to the nest, where they regurgitate it. They also collect pollen and store it in pollen baskets on their hind legs.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Queens are the first to appear in spring, followed by workers; drones show up in late summer and early fall.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are found from Mediterranean-type California up to the Alaskan tundra, giving them a very wide range.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, California, Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, Alaska, Idaho.
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
When are Western bumble bee queens active?
Queens are the first to emerge in spring.
Source: Wikipedia
What do Western bumble bee workers collect?
They collect nectar to regurgitate in the nest and pollen, which they carry in baskets on their hind legs.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_occidentalis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.