Bombus (Pyrobombus) ternarius Say, 1837

Zarrillo, Tracy A., Stoner, Kimberly A. & Ascher, John S., 2025, Biodiversity of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) in Connecticut (USA), Zootaxa 5586 (1), pp. 1-138 : 83

Bombus (Pyrobombus) ternarius Say, 1837

Tricolored Bumble Bee

Notes: In Connecticut this northern species (see Figure 2 , D) is known mostly from Litchfield County. More recently this species has been detected in Tolland County in 2010 and 2017, in New Haven County in 2012 (Zarrillo et al. 2016), and Litchfield County in 2021 (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92951878). The most recent New Haven County record is unusual in that it was collected in an agricultural habitat at the CAES experimental farm, which is not usually a preferred habitat for this species (Williams et al. 2014). Other collection locations include Beckley Bog in Norfolk (Litchfield County) and Bingham Pond in Salisbury. Specimens from Connecticut have been netted from spotted knapweed ( Centaurea stoebe ), wild bergamot ( Monarda fistulosa ), narrowleaf mountain mint ( Pycanthemum tenuifolium ), goldenrod ( Solidago s. l.), spearmint ( Mentha spicata ), white clover ( Trifolium repens ), bush clover ( Lespedeza sp. ), and huckleberry ( Gaylussacia baccata ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. A) Pseudoanthidium nanum (Mocsáry), photographed by D. Cappaert in Hartford County, Connecticut.B) Coelioxys coturnix Pérez, photographed by D. Cappaert in Hartford County, Connecticut.C) Bombus auricomus (Robertson), photographed by M. Nichols in New Haven County, Connecticut. D) Bombus ternarius Say, photographed by C. Young in Litchfield County, Connecticut. E) Andrena parnassiae Cockerell, photographed by M. McCarthy in Litchfield County, Connecticut. F) Andrena aliciae Robertson, photographed by D. Cappaert in New Haven County, Connecticut.