Bumbling About: Species on the Move

One day, about five years ago (2006), we noticed a new bumblebee in our backyard--a very dark (black) bee with a yellow face and a single yellow stripe on the abdomen. It was very distinctive and hard to miss, and we hadn't observed it in our area before. It's appearance seemed sudden. We have noticed it in our garden every year since then. Last week we noticed one at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, foraging on the heather plants, and one at Iona Beach Regional Park in Richmond, foraging on beach pea. In checking the bumblebee photos on E-Fauna BC, we identified this 'new' bumblebee as the yellow-faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii).

The yellow-faced bumblebee is found in western North America. According to a note we received from Robbin Thorp, a bumblebee specialist, it was reported from British Columbia by Stevens in 1957 (in Osoyoos). Thorp also points out, though, that Cameron (2011) in his paper on bumblebee declines in North America, doesn't include this species for BC--at least it is not included in the database he used. So do our sightings mean that this species is expanding its range? Certainly it is occurring in BC outside of Osoyoos now, and a check of the photo records on E-Fauna BC show that it has been found in Surrey (2007), Nanaimo (2010) and Port Alberni (2009). Combined with our records for Vancouver and Richmond for 2011, it would seem to 'have arrived' in southwestern BC and southern Vancouver Island around 2006. If there are any older records of its occurrence in the region, it would be interesting to hear about them so we can compile the information.

The apparent range expansion for this species may be the result of climate change or of some other factor, such as less competition (declining bee populations) or introduction to our area. It's worth watching for it now to see if it is more widespread in BC than existing records would show. Let us know if you see it in your area.


The yellow-faced bumblebee was reported in Australia (Buderim, southeast Queensland) in 1999 as an invasive/alien species.