Species Summary

BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary

Bombus melanopygus
Black Tail Bumble Bee

Scientific Name:

Bombus melanopygus Nylander, 1848

Scientific Name Synonyms:

Bombus (Pyrobombus) melanopygus

English Name:

Black Tail Bumble Bee

Classification / Taxonomy

Scientific Name - Concept Reference:

Williams, P. H. 2008a. Bombus, bumblebees of the world. Static copy of web pages based on Williams, P.H. 1998. An annotated checklist of bumblebees with an analysis of patterns of description (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum (Entomology) 67:79-152. [website now defunct]

Classification Level:

Species

Species Group:

Invertebrate Animal

Species Code:

HY-BOMMEL

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	Hymenoptera	Apidae

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 nests underground or above ground, including in bird houses and building insulation (Williams et al. 2014).

Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)

    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant:

N / N
N / N
N / N
na / N

Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)

Global Habitat Comments:

This bee is found in open grassy areas, chaparral and shrubland, mountain meadows, and in semi-natural habitats surrounded by intensely modified landscapes (Love 2010, 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).

Food Habits:

Global Food Habits Comments:

Global Phenology:

Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)

Colonial Breeder:

Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g):

/ /

Elevation (m) (min / max):

Global:
Provincial:

Distribution

Endemic:

Global Range Comment:

This species occurs in western North America, ranging from Alaska south to British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, throughout California and into Baja California, Mexico. It also occurs in the highlands of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada, and is known from scattered records over most of the Rocky Mountains. It occurs sparingly in the northern Great Plains, with apparently disjunct populations from the Arctic Circle (Baffin Island, Nunavut) and from northern Ontario, Quebec and maritime Labrador (Williams et al. 2014, Gibson et al. 2018, SCAN 2020).

Sheffield et al. (2020) note that it likely that specimens from northern North America identified as B. melanopygus may actually be B. johanseni.

Authors / Contributors

Global Information Author:

Last Updated:

Provincial Information Author:

Last Updated:

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.

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.

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 melanopygus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 21, 2026).

BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary

Bombus melanopygus Black Tail Bumble Bee

Suggested Citation:

Bombus melanopygus
Black Tail Bumble Bee