BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Bombus vancouverensis
Two Form Bumble Bee
| Scientific Name: | Bombus vancouverensis Cresson, 1878 | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Bombus (Pyrobombus) bifarius
Bombus bifarius |
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| English Name: | Two Form Bumble Bee | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Ghisbain, G., J.D. Lozier, S.R. Rahman, B.D. Ezray, L. Tian, J.M. Ulmer, S.D. Heraghty, J.P. Strange, P. Rasmont, and H.M. Hines. 2020. Substantial genetic divergence and lack of recent gene flow support cryptic speciation in a colour polymorphic bumble bee (Bombus bifarius) species complex. Systematic Entomology 45(3): 635-652. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Based on genetic analyses, occurrence data, and bioclimatic variables, Ghisbain et al. (2020) resurrect the bifarius s.s. and nearcticus lineages to full species. Based on sequencing data, they found that vancouverensis is conspecific with nearcticus. Since the name B. vancouverensis has precedence, Bombus vancouverensis is applied to the nearcticus lineage, and includes two subspecies, nearcticus and vancouverensis. | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | HY-BOMBIF | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Dec 2020) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Dec 2016) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | This species usually nests underground, but occasionally on the surface (Williams et al. 2014). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N N / N N / N na / N |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: |
This species is found in open grassy prairies, urban parks and gardens, chaparral and shrub areas, and mountain meadows (Williams et al. 2014). Many terrestrial habitat-checkoffs are based on an analysis of occurrence data and land-cover data by Chesshire et al. (2023). |
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| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | |||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This wide-ranging species occurs throughout western North America. Subspecies nearcticus ranges from Alaska and Yukon south to California and east to Idaho, Wyoming, Utah. Subspecies vancouverensis is found in British Columbia, Canada and the San Juan Islands of Washington State (USA) (Ghisbain et al. 2020). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
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| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Chesshire, P. R., E. E. Fischer, N. J. Dowdy, T. L. Griswold, A. C. Hughes, M. C. Orr, J. S. Ascher et al. 2023. Completeness analysis for over 3000 United States bee species identifies persistent data gap. Ecography: e06584. |
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Williams, P.H., R.W. Thorp, L.L. Richardson, and S.R. Colla. 2014b. Bumble bees of North America: an Identification Guide. Princeton University Press. 208 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Bombus vancouverensis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).