Bombus cockerelli
{{Short description|Species of bee}}
{{Speciesbox
| image =
| status = G1
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = {{cite NatureServe |id=2.1013804 |title=Bombus cockerelli |access-date=26 February 2025}}
| parent = Bombus (Pyrobombus)
| taxon = Bombus cockerelli
| authority = Franklin, 1913
}}
Bombus cockerelli, Cockerell's bumblebee, is a yellow and black bumblebee known only from fewer than 30 specimens, collected at a few high-altitude (over {{convert|6500|ft|disp=or|abbr=on}}) localities in the White Mountains of New Mexico, all within an area of less than {{convert|300|sqmi}}, giving it the smallest range of any of the ~250 species of bumblebees in the world.Yanega, D. 2013. The status of Cockerell’s Bumblebee, Bombus (Pyrobombus) cockerelli Franklin, 1913 (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Southwestern Entomologist 38: 517-522[http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2805 Scientists Rediscover Rarest U.S. Bumblebee; UCR Newsroom, December 5, 2011]
Description
Bombus cockerelli is a typical bumblebee in appearance, with queens {{convert|15|-|20|mm|1|abbr=on}} long, and distinctly smaller workers. The queens and workers are black on the head, with a few pale yellow hairs. The anterior and posterior thorax and the two basal and two terminal abdominal segments are yellow, while abdominal segments 3 and 4 are black.[http://eol.org/pages/1065141/overview images of Bombus cockerelli at EOL] Males are unknown.
Another species of bumblebee, Bombus balteatus, known to occur at high altitudes in Colorado, is similar to B. cockerelli,[http://bugguide.net/node/view/555257 Bugguide image of Bombus balteatus] but B. cockerelli has a shorter head, numerous intermixed black hairs on the anterior thorax, and the abdominal apex is yellow rather than rust-tinted.
History
The bee was first described in 1913, based on six specimens collected near the Rio Ruidoso in New Mexico. Between 1956 and 2011, not even one was seen.{{cite news |title=Scientists Rediscover Rarest U.S. Bumblebee: Cockerell's Bumblebee Was Last Seen in the United States in 1956 |date=December 5, 2011 |work=Science Daily |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205140616.htm |accessdate=January 4, 2012}} For a time, this bee was believed to be just a subspecies and not a full species. However, given access to fresh specimens whose genetic material can be analyzed, it is expected that it will now be possible to determine whether it is a true species.
Conservation status
Biology
Nothing is known regarding the biology of this species, other than some specimens having been collected on thistle flowers.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2665123}}
Category:Hymenoptera of North America
Category:Insects described in 1913
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