About Bombus auricomus (Robertson, 1903)
Bombus auricomus (Robertson, 1903) is a species of bumblebee, commonly called the black and gold bumblebee. It is native to eastern North America, where it can be found in Ontario, Canada, as well as most of the eastern United States, ranging west as far as the Great Plains. This bumblebee builds above-ground nests in grasslands and other open habitat types. It forages on a wide variety of plant types, including thistles, prairie clovers, delphiniums, teasels, echinacea, bergamot, penstemons, clovers, and vetches. This is a fairly large species of bumblebee. Workers and males measure around 1.7 to 2.0 centimeters in length, while queens can reach up to 2.5 centimeters long. This species was previously considered to be the same species as the Nevada bumblebee, B. nevadensis, but the two are now recognized as separate species.
