About Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863
Bombus impatiens, commonly called the common eastern bumblebee, is the most frequently encountered bumblebee across most of eastern North America. Its native range covers the Eastern temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the eastern Great Plains. More specifically, its native range includes Ontario, the New England States, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, extending south to Florida and west to Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. The species is highly adaptable, able to live in rural areas, suburbs, and even urban environments. This adaptability makes it an excellent pollinator species, which has led to growing commercial use by the greenhouse industry. This increased commercial use has in turn caused the species to spread further beyond its original native distribution range. Bombus impatiens is considered one of the most important pollinator bee species in North America. It adapts well to a wide variety of habitats, nectar sources, and climates, and has been observed visiting a diverse abundance of plant species. It can thrive in wooded habitats, as well as agricultural, wetland, and urban environments, and is likely associated with woodland spring ephemerals. It nests underground in open fields and woods.
