''Bombus ephippiatus'' is a species of

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

.Duennes, MD & Vandame, R.V. 2015
''Bombus ephippiatus''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 04 March 2016. This is a variable species. There are a number of color polymorphisms, with body hairs in shades of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black.Duennes, M. A., et al. (2012)
Geographical patterns of genetic divergence in the widespread Mesoamerican bumble bee ''Bombus ephippiatus'' (Hymenoptera: Apidae).
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 64, 219-231. Its species boundaries are not entirely clear. Some forms are similar to ''

Bombus wilmattae A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

'', which may actually be the same species. There may also be some similar specimens in the area that are an as yet undescribed species. This bee feeds on many kinds of flowers. It is active year-round in some areas. It generally occupies pine-oak forest and other kinds of mountain forest habitat. Its restriction to high-elevation regions may have produced physical isolation that led to its many color polymorphisms. It is an efficient pollinator of

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

plants.Torres-Ruiz, A., & Jones, R. W. (2012)
Comparison of the efficiency of the bumble bees ''Bombus impatiens'' and ''Bombus ephippiatus'' (Hymenoptera: Apidae) as pollinators of tomato in greenhouses.
''Journal of Economic Entomology'', 105(6), 1871-1877. The overcollection of queens from the wild for use in agricultural operations is a potential threat to the species.

References

Bumblebees Insects described in 1837 Taxa named by Thomas Say {{bombus-stub