I had a fabulous time hanging out with the members of the
Saskatchewan Perennial Society in Saskatoon. It was an inspiring experience,
and has got me all fired up about protecting our beloved prairie bees. There is
a surprising number of bumblebee species in Saskatchewan, with different
species found in the different bioregions. For details on where the species
have been found, be sure to check out Philip S. Curry’s
book: Bumblebees of Saskatchewan (Hymenoptera: Apidae) a survey of their
geographic distribution. May thanks to Philip and Cory Sheffield
for helping me compile a list of Saskatchewan bumblebee species to date. (Any
errors are my own!)
There are 26 species of bumblebees in
Saskatchewan. Four are cuckoo bees that parasitize the nests of true
bumblebees. Four of the true bumblebees are long-tongued with tongues longer
that that of the honeybee tongue, which is about 7 mm in length. Five species of the
bumblebees are short-tongued with tongues less that 7 mm long.
Long-tongued bees will favor flowers with long corollas in
your garden, such as Mondarda fistulosa,
the bee balm that is native to Saskatchewan. Plant lots of it!!!!! Add in some
other fabulous Monarda species for
your best edible bee-feeding bouquets. The medium-tongued bees will feed on
your Echinacea purpurea and dip into
the flowers with deeper nectaries if they are full to the brim, using the
capillary action of their tongue to lap up the sweet stuff. The larger-bodied
bumblebees and the queens also like Echinicea purpurea because the flowers can
support their weight. The smaller-tongued bees will chew holes in the wild bee
balm and rob the nectar without pollinating the flower and they will dip into
the smaller flowers and all the asters (gaillardia, grindelia, goldenrod,
sunflowers, etc.) with their tiny florets. The rare Bombus occidentalis, which has a short tongue loves the pincushion flower (Scabiosa atropurpurea). So have fun creating biodiversity in
your prairie garden to make it hum with choirs of bumblebees!
Saskatchewan Bombus (Alphabetical Order)
1: White-Shouldered
Bumble Bee (Bombus appositus)
Subgenus: Subterraneobombus
(long-tongued)
2: Two Form Bumblebee aka Black-notched Bumblebee (Bombus bifarius)
Subgenus Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
3: Gypsy
Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus bohemicus)
includes Ashton’s Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus
ashtoni) --Endangered
Subgenus Psithyrus
4: Northern
Amber Bumble Bee (Bombus borealis)
Subgenus: Subterraneobombus
5: Central Bumble Bee (Bombus
centralis)
Subgenus Pyrobombus (long-tongued)
6: Fernald’s
Cuckoo Bee (used to be Bombus fernaldae now B flavidus)
Subgenus: Psithyrus
7: Yellow-fronted
Bumble Bee (Bombus flavifrons)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
8: Golden
Northern Bumble Bee (Bombus fervidus)
(including B. californicus)
Subgenus: Thoracobombus (long-tongued)
9: Frigid
Bumble Bee (Bombus frigidus)
Subgenus Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
10: Brown-belted
Bumble Bee (Bombus griseocollis)
Subgenus: Cullumanobombus
(medium-tongued)
11: Hunt's Bumble Bee (Bombus
huntii)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
12: Indiscriminate
Bumble Bee (Bombus insularis)
Subgenus Psithyrus
13: Heath Bumblebee (Bombus jonellus)
Subgenus Pyrobombus (short-tongued)
14: Black
Tail Bumble Bee (Bombus melanopygus)
aka red-rumped
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
15: Fuzzy-Horned
Bumble Bee (Bombus mixtus)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
16: Nevada
Bumble Bee (Bombus nevadensis)
Subgenus: Bombias (long-tongued)
17: Western
Bumble Bee (Bombus occidentalis
occidentalis)--Threatened
Subgenus: Bombus (short-tongued)
18: Confusing
Bumble Bee (Bombus perplexus)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (short-tongued)
19: Red-belted
Bumble Bee (Bombus rufocinctus)
Subgenus Cullumanobombus (short-tongued)
20: Sanderson's
Bumble Bee (Bombus sandersoni)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued*)
IUCN*
21: Sitka
Bumble Bee (Bombus sitkensis)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
22: Suckley's Bumble Bee (Bombus
suckleyi)
Subgenus Psithyrus
23: Red-tailed
Bumble Bee (Bombus sylvicola)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
25: Special
Concern--Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola)
Subgenus: Bombus (short-tongued)
26: Half-black
Bumble Bee (Bombus vagans vagans)
Subgenus: Pyrobombus (medium-tongued)
Sources:
Cory Sheffield
Bumblebees of Saskatchewan (Hymenoptera:
Apidae) a survey of their geographic distribution by Philip S. Curry, 1984.
Discover Life (www.discoverlife.org)
Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (http://www.biodiversity.sk.ca) a survey of their geographic distribution.
Bumble Bees of
North America: An Identification Guide by Paul H.
Williams, Robbin W. Thorp, Leif L. Richardson, Sheila R. Colla, March 23, 2014
Princeton University Press.
