yellow head bumblebee

Description:

Body about 12 mm long and mostly covered with long, uneven hair. Face with yellow hair between the compound eyes and extending downward well below the insertions of the antennae. Thorax and first two abdominal segments with yellow hair. The rest of the abdomen with mainly black hair (segment 6 also with sparse patches of yellow hair on the sides and top). Note that B. flavifrons dimidiatus lacks the reddish hair on abdominal segments 3-4 that is characteristic of other forms of B. flavifrons.

Habitat:

Small planting of sedum in grass lawn facing an urban street.

Notes:

Foraging on nectar of Sedum x ‘Autumn Joy’ (= Hylotelephium telephium ‘Autumn Joy’). Pollen baskets of this bee and two other individuals of the same species (and subspecies) were empty. Useful reference: "Bumblebees of the Western United States" -- http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/BumbleBee...