About Bombus perplexus Cresson, 1863
Bombus perplexus, commonly called the confusing bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to northern North America. Its range spans across Canada and extends into the eastern United States. Queens of this species measure 1.7 to 2.1 centimeters in body length, with an abdominal width of just under one centimeter. Their bodies are mostly black, with patches of pale hairs. Worker females are 1.2 to 1.4 centimeters long, with a width of half a centimeter. Workers are hairier than queens and have more yellow hairs, and their abdomens are patterned black and yellow. Males are the same size as worker females. This bumblebee species occurs across multiple regions and habitats: Canada's maritime regions, the Canadian Prairies, taiga, tundra, and temperate forests, and it can also be found in wetlands, wooded areas, and urban gardens. Males have reddish tips on their mandibles, white hairs on their head and legs, and a mix of yellow and white hairs on their thorax. Bombus perplexus feeds on a wide variety of plant genera, including bellflowers, thistles, honeysuckles, penstemons, pickerel weeds, and lindens. It may act as a host for Fernald's cuckoo bumblebee (B. fernaldae).
