Bug FAQPolar Bumble Bee
Bombus polaris · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Arctic Bee
Polar bumble bees vary in size, some as small as 10 mm while others are much larger, and they have a thick coat of hair for insulation. They live only on high-altitude Arctic summits, can tolerate near-freezing temperatures, and pollinate plants such as Arctic poppies, roses and willows.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Individuals can be as short as 10 mm, but many are considerably larger. They have a thicker hair coat than most bees, which helps with thermoregulation and insulated nesting.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
This species is alpine-restricted, living only at mountain summits in the Arctic. It is a social bee that can survive near-freezing temperatures thanks to several cold-adaptations.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults gather pollen and nectar from Arctic poppies, roses and willows. The food collected each day usually lasts only one night.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Colonies start in June and survive only two to three months before winter returns. New queens hibernate for about nine months in mouse nests or other burrows, waiting for the ground to warm.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
New colonies can be seen in June or July. Because of its cold tolerance, it is among the earliest Arctic pollinators each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is found across Canada and Arctic Alaska. Its range also includes Arctic islands such as Devon, Ellesmere, Baffin and Greenland, as well as northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It shares its Arctic range with two other bumblebees, the social parasites Bombus hyperboreus and Bombus natvigi.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Alaska, Kansas, Idaho, Washington.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do Polar bumble bees look like?
They usually have a black thorax with orange-yellow edges, an orange-yellow abdomen with a black tip, and hair that can be rust-colored or dull yellow on the rear segments.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find Polar bumble bees?
They live only on high-altitude Arctic mountain summits and are found across Canada, Arctic Alaska, several Arctic islands, northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia.
Source: Wikipedia
When do they appear each year?
New colonies start forming in June or July, and they are among the first pollinators active in the Arctic spring.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do they pollinate?
They visit Arctic poppies, Arctic roses and Arctic willows for nectar and pollen.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_polaris
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.