ARS | Publication request: Bumble bees of the western United States

Submitted to: USDA Forest Service Research Notes
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: March 1, 2012
Publication Date: August 30, 2012
Repository URL: http://pollinator.org/books.htm
Citation: Koch, J., Strange, J.P., Williams, P. 2012. Bumble bees of the western United States. USDA Forest Service Research Notes. Publication No. FS-972.

Interpretive Summary: This book is a guide to the natural history and identification of bumble bees native to the western United States. Thirty species of bees are presented in the guide. We describe how to identify the bees, when and where each species can be found and information on the plants they are likely to visit. The guide has multiple pictures of all the species presented, color diagrams to aid in identification and a physical description of each bee species. This is the first guide to the bumble bees of the western United States to be published.

Technical Abstract: Bumble bees (genus Bombus) are critical pollinators of flowering plants. Thirty species of bumble bees are native to the western United States and this publication is a guide to the natural history and identification of these species. We present phenology graphs, host-plant associations, detailed range maps, identification diagrams, and species descriptions for each species. Natural history information is presented as is a dichotomous key for species identifications.