Eastern and central North America, from southern Canada through much of the eastern United States.
Fine-art photographic collection
Bombus auricomus
A giant prairie bumblebee that builds a surprisingly small nest above ground.
About this species
Black and gold bumble bee
Bombus auricomus(Robertson, 1903)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
The black-and-gold bumblebee is among the largest North American bumblebees, with queens reaching roughly 25 millimetres. Yet its colonies are small and usually hidden at the surface in dense grass rather than deep underground.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Apidae · Bombus
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
Eastern North AmericaBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Flower-rich open habitat, woodland edge, farmland or upland habitat according to the species and region.
Diurnal; workers forage during the colony season.
Adults use nectar for energy; pollen is collected to feed developing brood.
Eusocial colony with a queen and female workers; colony cycle varies with climate.
What makes this species remarkable?
Queens can reach about 2.5 centimetres, making this one of the largest bumblebees in eastern North America.
Instead of using a deep rodent burrow, the species often builds a compact above-ground nest concealed inside prairie vegetation.
Its long tongue allows workers to exploit deep tubular flowers such as penstemons that shorter-tongued bees cannot reach efficiently.