Bombus kluanensis Williams and Cannings, 2016
Properties
Scientific Name: Bombus kluanensis Williams and Cannings, 2016
Common Name: Kluane Bumble Bee
Taxonomy
Megabombus (Megabombus) strenuus Milliron 1973: 110. Misidentification, not Bombus strenuus Cresson, 1863 (= Bombus neoboreus Sladen, 1919).
Bombus (Alpinobombus) "unnamed" Williams et al., 2015: 3.
Bombus (Alpinobombus) kluanensis Williams and Cannings, 2016, in Williams et al. 2016: 5 [♀].
Holotype ♀ (queen). CANADA, Yukon, Outpost Mtn., 3 km WNW, 18 June 2010, by S.G. Cannings [BMNH].
Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was described by Williams et al. (2019: 41).
Paul Williams was the first to recognize B. kluanensis Williams and Cannings, 2016 as a possible separate taxon from B. neoboreus Sladen, 1919, based on COI of individuals collected in the Saint Elias Mountians of the Yukon and Alaska, though subsequently (i.e., Williams et al. 2014: 105) treated it as part of B. neoboreus, indicating that this taxon was paraphyletic. It was subsequently recognized as a valid species from ♀ specimens (Williams et al. 2016) with the ♂ described later (Williams et al. 2019).
DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:ACF1546
Distribution in Canada: Williams et al. 2016 [AK, YT]; Williams et al. 2019 [AK, YT].
Body length: ♀ 22-25 mm [q]; 12-18 mm [w] ♂ 16-20 mm
References
Williams PH, Byvaltsev AM, Cederberg B, Berezin MV, Ødegaard F, Rasmussen C, Richardson LL, Huang J-X, Sheffield CS, Williams ST (2015) Genes suggest ancestral colour polymorphisms are shared across morphologically cryptic species in arctic bumblebees. PLoS ONE 10: 1-26.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144544
Williams PH, Cannings SG, Sheffield CS (2016) Cryptic subarctic diversity: a new bumblebee species from the Yukon and Alaska (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Natural History 50(45-46): 2881-2893.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2016.1214294
Milliron HE (1973a) A monograph of the Western Hemisphere bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Bombinae). II. The genus Megabombus subgenus Megabombus. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 89: 81-237. https://doi.org/10.4039/entm10589fv
Williams PH, Thorp RW, Richardson LL, Colla SR (2014) Bumble Bees of North America. An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 208 pp.
Williams PH, Berezin MV, Cannings SG, Cederberg B, Ødegaard F, Rasmussen C, Richardson L, Rykken J, Sheffield CS, Thanoosing C, Byvaltsev AM (2019) The arctic and alpine bumblebees of the subgenus Alpinobombus revised from integrative assessment of species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus). Zootaxa 4625(1): 1-68. https://doi.org/10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4625.1.1
Sociality: Eusocial
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mated Female
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alaska, Yukon
Ecozone: Boreal Cordillera