Bombus mckayi Ashmead, 1902
Properties
Scientific Name: Bombus mckayi Ashmead, 1902
Common Name: McKay s Bumble Bee
Taxonomy
Bombus mckayi Ashmead, 1902: 125 [♀].
Holotype ♀. USA, Alaska, Nushagak River, by Chas. W. McKay [USNM no. 5719].
Taxonomic Notes: The ♂ has not been formally descirbed.
This species was placed into synonymy under B. occidentalis Greene by Bequaert (1920: 293) and was considered as such until Williams et al. (2012), and later Sheffield et al. (2016) recognized it as a valid northern subspecies, the latter study detailing its range and colour patterns versus its southern conspecific. Williams (2021) later recognized it as a distinct species.
References
Ashmead WH (1902) Papers from the Harriman Alaska Expedition. XXVIII. Hymenoptera. Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences 4: 117-274.https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.18572
Williams PH (2021) Not just cryptic, but a barcode bush: PTP reanalysis of global data for the bumblebee subgenus Bombus s. str. supports additional species (Apidae, genus Bombus). Journal of Natural History 55(5-6): 271-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2021.1900444
Sheffield CS, Richardson L, Cannings S, Ngo H, Heron J, Williams PH (2016) Biogeography and designatable units of Bombus occidentalis Greene and B. terricola Kirby (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with implications for conservation status assessments. Journal of Insect Conservation. 20: 189-199.
Williams PH, Brown MJF, Carolan JC, An J-D, Goulson D, Aytekin AM, Best LR, Byvaltsev AM, Cederberg B, Dawson R, Huang J, Ito M, Monfared A, Raina RH, Schmid-Hempel P, Sheffield CS, Šima P, Xie Z (2012) Unveiling cryptic species of the bumblebee subgenus Bombus s. str. world-wide with COI barcodes (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Systematics and Biodiversity 10(1): 21-56.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2012.664574
Bequaert J (1920) Bees and wasps. The Ohio Journal of Science 20(7): 292-297.
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon
Ecozone: Boreal Cordillera, Taiga Cordillera