Bombus hyperboreus

Description

Bombus hyperboreus is a species of Arctic bumblebee with a circumpolar distribution. The species is primarily found in the arctic areas of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, northern Scandinavia, and Russia. However, more recently (2015) the nearctic bumble bee, Bombus natvigi has been separated from this species, based on genetic analysis. Then, Bombus hyperboreus is limited to the Palaearctic. It is a brood parasite, and attacks and enslaves other bumblebee colonies in order to reproduce as they do not even have the ability to produce workers themselves. Most of its targets are colonies of species of the same subgenus, Alpinobombus.